Colette Kelleher (Independent) | Oireachtas source

In light of the recent letters originating from St. Luke's hospital in Kilkenny that have come into the public domain, declaring the hospital not to be an appropriate location to carry out abortion services, I would like to raise the issue of women's access to abortion services across Ireland. Under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, women have a legal entitlement to abortion services which must be organised in a manner that ensures this right is vindicated in practice through locally accessible abortion care. However, a letter sent on behalf of four obstetrician-gynaecologists at St. Luke’s asserts that the hospital is unfit to carry out abortion services. An additional letter, dated 17 June, underlines that not only can terminations not be carried out at St. Luke’s, but that there is no referral pathway to a hospital that can provide such a termination.

This is not an isolated case. The recent issues with St. Luke’s General Hospital in Kilkenny are symptomatic of a much larger problem. There would seem to be inadequate resourcing and training available, as well as the question of how refusal of care is managed. As of now, only ten out of 19 maternity units in the State provide abortion services for women. Regarding refusal of care, institutions do not have the right to refuse to provide care. The 2018 Act stipulated that they have a duty to refer women on to enable them to access abortion care. There should be a clear pathway of referral for a woman and it should only be a temporary measure while St. Luke's undertakes work required to establish its own termination of pregnancy service.

On another matter, one of the signatories of the St. Luke’s letter is also at the centre of a second scandal, in which women underwent gynaecological "exploratory work" without their consent. It is even suggested in The Irish Times that such procedures could have been carried out for potential patents and profiteering down the line. As I understand it, again from The Irish Times, the hospital maintains that the obstetrician involved should have obtained consent from women. The hospital has sought his suspension and reported the matter to the Medical Council.This is deeply troubling given our history of such cases where women were not consulted about procedures. It seems we have not learned anything.

To return to the issue of abortion services, the Minister for Health, Deputy Harris, only days ago underlined his Department's commitment when he said that "all 19 maternity hospitals should be in a position to provide termination of pregnancy service under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018." I ask the Leader to request the Minister to come to the House to clarify exactly what he and his Department propose to do to ensure that all 19 maternity units, including the unit in St. Luke's General Hospital, are capable of carrying out termination of pregnancy services as they are legally obliged to do and what he proposes to do about the egregious breach of consent, as highlighted by the nursing staff in St. Luke's hospital.