Dr. Catherine Conlon:

To bolster that, and from our study again, we talked to people who had accessed this care. They said that they went to their GP. It took some time to actually get to the GP, and time is really important in this service. There was a delay in getting to the GP. When people got to the GP, it was only then really clarified that they had this legally enforced three-day wait. There is no clinical reason for the wait. It brought no clinical quality to the model of care or care. For the people who attended, they attended a service and GP clear as to their competency in making a decision and then they were told there was a legally enforced three-day wait. People said they may have opted, and I think this is the basis for Ms O'Shea saying the model of care should retain a second opted-into appointment. The model of care in Ireland means one has to self-manage the abortion process at home, if you are under nine weeks. In order to do that, a second appointment for sure is beneficial but a mandated three-day wait was oppositional to women's well-being.