Abortion in The Republic of Ireland - Public Opinion

Public Opinion

• A 1997 Irish Times/MRBI poll found that 18% believed that abortion should never be permitted, 77% believed that it should be allowed in certain circumstances (this was broken down into: 35% that one should be allowed in the event that the woman's life is threatened; 14% if her health is at risk; 28% that "an abortion should be provided to those who need it") and 5% were undecided.
• A September 2004 Royal College of Surgeons survey for the Crisis Pregnancy Agency found that, in the under-45 age groups, 51% supported abortion on-demand, with 39% favouring the right to abortion in limited circumstances. Only 8% felt that abortion should not be permitted in any circumstances.
• A September 2005 Irish Examiner/Lansdowne poll found that 36% believe abortion should be legalized while 47% do not.
• A June 2007 TNS/MRBI poll found that 43% supported legal abortion if a woman believed it was in her best interest while 51% remained opposed. 82% favoured legalization for cases when the woman's life is in danger, 75% when the foetus cannot survive outside the womb, and 73% when the pregnancy has resulted from sexual abuse.
• A January 2010 Irish Examiner/RedC online poll found that 60% of 18-35 year olds believe abortion should be legalised, and that 10% of this age group had been in a relationship where an abortion took place. The same survey also showed that 75% of women believed the morning-after pill should be an over-the-counter (OTC) drug, as opposed to a prescription drug.
• A September 2012 Sunday Times/Behaviour and Attitudes poll of 923 people showed that 80% of voters would support a change to the law to allow abortion where the life of the woman was at risk, with 16% opposed and 4% undecided.

No clear result or consensus has emerged. In theory, abortion is legal in Ireland if there is a risk to the life of the woman. A provision exists in the Irish constitution to allow Dáil Éireann to legislate on this; however, no political party has risked it.

Estimates to the number of Irish women seeking abortions in Britain vary. In 2001, an estimated 7,000 women travelled abroad to obtain an abortion. In May 2007, a pregnant 17-year-old girl, known only as "Miss D", who was pregnant with a fetus suffering from anencephaly, was prevented from travelling to Britain by the Health Service Executive. The High Court ruled on May 9, 2007 that she could not be prevented from travelling because she was a ward of the state.

In 2005, two Irish women and a Lithuanian woman who had previously travelled to England for abortion brought suit in the European Court of Human Rights asserting that restrictive and unclear Irish laws violate several provisions of the European Convention on Human Rights. The case, A. B. and C. v. Ireland, was heard before the Grand Chamber of the Court on 9 December 2009 and was decided on 16 December 2010. In that case, the Court held there is no right for women to an abortion, and that the first two women’s rights were not violated by being forced to travel because Irish law was "legitimately trying to protect public morals". ECHR also ruled that Irish law struck a fair balance between the women’s rights to respect of their private lives and the rights of the unborn. Although it found that Ireland had violated the Convention by failing to provide an accessible and effective procedure by which a woman can have established whether she qualifies for a legal abortion under current Irish law. The Court's decision is binding on Ireland and all of the member states of the Council of Europe. A government appointed 'Expert Group' is due to adjudicate on Ireland's legal situation in late 2012.

In 2012, Ireland's abortion laws came under public scrutiny after the death of Savita Halappanavar at University College Hospital Galway where she went to seek treatment during a miscarriage. Her death lead to widespread media coverage and protests against Ireland's strict anti-abortion laws.