Rally hears calls for Government to address ‘soaring’ abortion numbers

By David Young, PA

The Government must act to address Ireland’s “soaring” abortion numbers, an anti-abortion rally in Dublin has been told.

The call was made as a large crowd assembled outside Leinster House on Monday afternoon after the annual March for Life in the city.

A total of 10,033 abortions were carried out in Ireland in 2023, according to official data from the Department of Health. This was up on the 8,156 terminations in 2022.

The figures for 2024 are expected to be published in the coming weeks.

The rally outside the Oireachtas was told there was a need for “immediate steps” by Government to stop the upward trend.

Eilis Mulroy, from the Pro Life Campaign – the organisation that staged the event, told the crowd on Molesworth Street: “At the heart of public life in Ireland today, there is a disconnect, a denialism, an indifference and a total lack of accountability that has to be confronted and broken.

“The massive increase in abortions taking place and the refusal of the Government to engage with any viewpoint other than the most radical elements of the pro-abortion movement is proof of the totally skewed discussion that’s taking place.

“When I think of the heartbreak and pain that so many women I know have experienced after abortion, and the lives of so many babies that have been lost, it gives me tremendous energy, drive and determination to keep going.

“And I know everyone gathered here today feels the same way.”

Ireland voted to liberalise its laws on terminations in a landmark referendum in 2018.

A new legal framework introduced after the referendum provides for unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 weeks in term. There is a mandatory three-day waiting period between a woman’s initial medical consultation and her being given access to abortion treatment or medication.

After 12 weeks, terminations are allowed in certain circumstances, such as in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities and when there is a risk to the wellbeing of the expectant mother.