An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2026-05-12
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Sarah O'Reilly (AON), Agricultural Panel

Tomorrow evening, the Dáil will vote on the Social Democrats' Bill to remove the three-day waiting period for abortion in Ireland. Over the past week, I have received many emails from constituents who are very concerned about the proposed legislation. This attempt to remove the three-day wait is not about supporting women; it is about pushing abortion as the only option. Why? The HSE's own figures show that between 2019 and 2024, 10,426 women did not attend their second appointment, yet no one has followed up with these women. No one has asked why they changed their minds, what support they needed, or whether the three-day wait period gave them that time and space to reflect during an incredibly difficult moment in their lives. Do those voices not matter in this discussion and if not, why not? It seems only right that women should be made aware of all the support available to them and have time to reflect before making what is an irreversible decision. Ireland is not alone in recognising that principle. Countries such as Germany, Spain and the Netherlands all retain waiting periods within their laws.
I ask people to listen to the story of Ruth O'Sullivan, who felt pressured to have an abortion after finding out her baby girl had Patau syndrome. Her family was not supported. They were pointed towards abortion as the only choice and left to manage their grief alone. In an interview, Ruth said: "I thought I was doing what was best for her ... but no one actually gave us another option." No one said she might "regret this ... down the road" or that there is another option.
It is irresponsible to push for extreme abortion legislation without hearing from the women who regret it. It is wrong to remove the three-day wait without asking even one of those 10,000 women why they did not go back and go through with an abortion. This is not what people have voted for.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2026-05-12/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:55+00:00
Sitting date: 2026-05-12