Choice Ireland

Choice Ireland spokesperson Sinéad Ahern has today commented on Daily Mail and TV3 investigations showing the ready online availability of abortion pills.

Ahern said:

"When Choice Ireland's Freedom of Information request to the Irish Medicines Board revealed that at least three women a day were attempting to import abortion pills, we said that this was only the tip of the iceberg. These investigations have proven us correct. They demonstrate that customs are unable to prevent women from obtaining DIY abortions just by going online.

"It must now be acknowledged that the official abortion statistics, as provided by clinics in Britain and the Netherlands, are hopelessly unreliable. Those of us who have consistently argued that those figures under-represent the true number of Irish abortions have also been proven correct.

"No doubt customs will respond to this by stepping up enforcement but any measures it takes will continue to sidestep the real issue: that Irish women, no less than women anywhere else in the world, need access to safe, reliable and affordable abortion and will go to great risks if that access is denied.

"What will it take for Ireland to face up to this reality?" ENDS