Bríd Smith (Dublin South Central, People Before Profit Alliance) | Oireachtas source

I thank the witness for that. Early abortions are most common; 81% are performed at under 13 weeks, which is very good. Is that largely due to increased use of the abortion pill, in the sense that the woman can take a pill early on and does not have to go through surgical abortion? Would the professors distinguish between the two things in those statistics?

I do not suspect the witnesses will want to answer my next question but I want to ask it. If they closed their eyes and just landed here, without knowing they had to come to speak to a parliamentary committee about our future in Ireland, what would they think about the state of abortion care for women in this country? What would be their impressions as a professor in law and a professor in obstetrics?