Seven years after Repeal at least 240 women are still travelling for abortion care every year

Published: Sunday, May 25, 2025

The Repeal of the 8th amendment on this day (25th May) seven years ago marked a milestone in women’s access to reproductive rights in Ireland. However, around 240 women still travel to the UK from Ireland every year to access abortion care, amounting to an estimated 1,680 women since 2019, according to the Exporting Abortion Project.

Ahead of Ireland’s upcoming examination by CEDAW (the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women), the National Women’s Council (NWC) called for the full implementation of the legislative and operational recommendations of the Abortion Review (O’Shea Report).

These include:

• the urgent removal of the 3-day mandatory waiting period,
• the decriminalisation of abortion, and
• the need to address the current 28-day viability clause which is resulting in many families with diagnoses of fatal foetal anomalies make devastating journeys abroad.

Doireann Crosson, Women’s Health Coordinator with NWC said,

“In 2018, people overwhelmingly voted for women to be able to access the care they need in Ireland. Seven years on from Repeal, it is unacceptable that hundreds of women are left with no choice but to travel abroad. We are disappointed that the current Programme for Government lacks the ambition and leadership needed to address the serious gaps that remain. NWC is calling for the urgent and full implementation of the recommendations of the O’Shea report, including the mandatory 3 day waiting period and the decriminalisation of abortion. We also want to see a review of the 12-week limit.”

She continued,

“NWC welcomed that from 2025 all 19 maternity hospitals in the Republic are now providing abortion services. GP coverage has also improved with at least one GP in every county providing abortion care. However, gaps in training and data collection remain. Addressing these will be crucial to further improve services for women. We also remain concerned about access to abortion care in Northern Ireland, where significant gaps in regional provision continue.”

NWC will highlight the ongoing barriers to abortion access in Ireland in its forthcoming 2025 Shadow Report to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), which is expected to examine Ireland in June 2025.