Dr. Caitriona Henchion:

The issue doctors or counsellors have with the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act is, first, the procedural difficulties involved in the Act and, second, the uncertainty. If somebody presents and one feels there is a possibility she might qualify for an abortion under the Act, one cannot have any certainty about that. One can only say to her that there is a possibility that she might be considered for an abortion under the Act. One can explain the procedures, which are that she will have to be seen first by an obstetrician and then either by another obstetrician or another physician or two psychiatrists for a decision to be reached. If somebody is suffering from mental ill health, for example, it is quite likely she will be attending a psychiatrist already. She might have already disclosed that and she has now disclosed her situation to a counsellor or a doctor. The prospect of having to go through three more similar investigations with another medical person is off-putting for her. Our experience, and it is not huge because not many women will qualify under the Act anyway, is that where these issues arise, the woman will choose to travel if she has the means. She does not want to have the uncertainty and the rigour of having to go through the Act.