Dr. Ronald Johnson:

There are different levels of criminalisation. In Ireland, there is the criminal law but it is maybe not as enforced as often as it is in other countries. Even when one does not have enforcement, criminalisation creates a chilling effect on women seeking services because they are never quite sure if they might go to prison for it. It also creates a chilling effect on providers providing services, again because they are unsure of what might happen. It can be worse if the laws are actually applied. I am sure members are all familiar with the situation in Romania back in the 1990s. Abortion was legal up until 1966. When it was criminalised in 1966, it was not just a policy matter. Many measures were put in place to enforce it. The importation of contraceptives was prohibited and people were sent to high schools to do gynaecological checks of young girls every month and if girls were found to be pregnant, they would follow them up, so it was seriously criminalised. Members can see the graphs. Abortion-related mortality skyrocketed to some of the high levels we have ever documented. In 1991, the law was liberalised overnight. Ceauescu was executed and the first thing the Romanian Government did was liberalise the law because it recognised the problem of unsafe abortions. Members can see that overnight, the mortality rate dropped considerably. The number of abortions went up because they had not been reported before and all of a sudden, women had access to safe abortion, but members can see that the number came down as contraception use went up because they started increasing contraceptive access. In addition to contraception, we also need comprehensive sexuality education. That, coupled with access to affordable contraception, is the best way to prevent unintended pregnancy.