A FURTHER FIVE hospitals are to offer abortion services from Monday, bringing the total to 17 of Ireland’s 19 maternity hospitals to offer to service, Health Minister Stephen Donnelly has announced.

Currently, 12 of the 19 maternity hospitals are providing abortion services. 

The five maternity hospitals being added to the list are Kilkenny, Portiuncula, Letterkenny, Wexford and Portlaoise. 

Expanded services for termination of pregnancy under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 were introduced from 1 January 2019.

It is Government policy that abortion services under the 2018 Act should be provided in all 19 maternity hospitals.

The HSE National Women & Infants Health Programme (NWIHP) has advised that all maternity hospitals offer a range of termination of pregnancy services that include:

• Supporting women with any post termination complications.
• Provision of ultrasound scanning as required.
• Provision of care and supervision in cases where maternal health/life is at risk, and referral to the appropriate tertiary hospital as required.
• Provision of care and supervision for women following a diagnosis of fatal foetal anomaly, including referral to an appropriate tertiary unit.

The HSE has advised that the remaining two hospitals, Cavan and Clonmel, will begin service provision in 2024.

“I welcome this significant expansion of termination of pregnancy care. This will enable women to access care in their local units without the additional burden of travel, HSE clinical lead for termination services, Dr Aoife Mullally, said. 

“While the majority of early pregnancy abortion care is provided in the community, a hospital-based service is essential for some women and is a valuable support for the community-based service.”

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