Dr. Catherine Conlon:

What we heard in our study was that for women who discovered they were pregnant and it represented for them a crisis for which they ultimately decided to seek termination, that decision-making was something they felt competent to do. They usually discussed it with their key support networks as they would other key decisions in their lives. By the time they were making the decision to contact a health professional, they felt they had made a very sound decision at that point and that they were competent and capable to do that. They were then contacting a health professional to understand how the service worked and to access the service.

On the three-day wait, women are accessing the service early. The statistics show that a strong proportion of those accessing care under 12 weeks are accessing it through primary care practitioners in the community - so under ten weeks’ gestation. Clinical guidelines would say that is optimal in terms of the best outcomes for care. Women are making their decisions effectively and they feel with competence, and are able to do that.