Dr. Catherine Conlon:

It was specifically our study that looked at service user experiences and women's pathways through the model of care for abortion in the health service. We set out to make contact with anybody who had entered into the abortion care pathway or crisis pregnancy supports care pathway and to interview them for the study. In the event, nobody who had had a first appointment and did not proceed with a second appointment opted in to our research.

As to why someone might undergo only a first consultation, there are many reasons and doctors working in this area have commented on that.

There are many reasons somebody would not return for a second visit. For example, the pregnancy may have miscarried. The fact that somebody has a consultation with a GP about a pregnancy, even under the abortion model of care, does not necessarily mean - and our data support this - that they are considering abortion. They are looking at their care options under the health service.