Dr. Karena Hanley:

It is important to understand that it would be highly unlikely that a situation would ever arise that 100% of women would need to access aftercare post-abortion because it is a safe procedure and goes very smoothly in the vast majority of situations. I cannot see a situation where there would be a significant rise in the proportion of those requiring aftercare.

In terms of specific training, we have a number of items of our ICGP training curriculum in dealing with crisis pregnancy, the requirement to follow the ethical council guidelines in knowing the legislation and in dealing with the absolute need to support the woman in her choice. In terms of any further training that might be needed, the ICGP is very well placed to adapt to this. We have an extremely active women's health division within the ICGP. The guide on crisis pregnancy was recently updated. It is updated usually every three to five years. The response is already ingrained within our organisation.