There were at least 335 abortions carried out in Donegal since the procedure became legal in Ireland, a new report has revealed.
The Department of Health report revealed there were 127 terminations carried out in the county in 2019, 128 in 2020 and 90 in 2021.
However, the department stressed, the 2021 figures may be much higher – the discrepancy may potentially be explained by the effects of Covid-19 and the HSE cyber-attack.
The Independent Review of the Operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 was published this afternoon.
It found that there was uneven geographic coverage of primary care providers carrying out abortions.
“Fewer contracts between the HSE and primary care providers are recorded in the south-east, north-west, midlands and border counties,” is stated.
It added the shortage of abortion services in these areas has required women to travel, sometimes long distances by public transport, at significant cost, to access a providing GP.
“The mandatory three day wait between the first and second appointment compounds this problem. Both issues also present logistical problems for women, particularly those who are time constrained.”
Data in the report shows that in some areas of the country, particularly aforementioned areas, women are depending on very low numbers of abortion providing GPs: “Which makes for extremely tenuous service provision, at risk of ceasing altogether were the provider to withdraw the service.”
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