Restrictive Points of Entry Into Abortion Care in Ireland: A Qualitative Study of Expectations and Experiences With the Service

Authors

Dyuti Chakravarty, Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Sociology, University College Cork, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
Joanna Mishtal, Professor, Department of Anthropology, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
Lorraine Grimes, Postdoctoral Researcher, Social Sciences Institute, Maynooth University, Maynooth, Republic of Ireland.
Karli Reeves, Research Specialist, Department of Population Health Sciences, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL, USA.
Bianca Stifani, Complex Family Planning Specialist, Westchester Medical Center / Clinical Assistant Professor, New York Medical College, New York, NY, USA.
Deirdre Duffy, Senior Lecturer in Global Inequalities, Department of Sociology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, UK.
Mark Murphy, General Practitioner, Eldon Family Practice, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.
Mary Favier, General Practitioner, Parklands Surgery, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
Patricia Horgan, General Practitioner, Broad Lane Family Practice, Cork, Republic of Ireland.
Wendy Chavkin, Co-Founder, Global Doctors for Choice, New York, NY, USA.
Antonella Lavelanet, Medical Officer, UNDP-UNFPA-UNICEF-WHO-World Bank Special Programme of Research, Development and Research Training in Human Reproduction (HRP), Department of Sexual and Reproductive Health and Research, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.

Author Type(s)

Faculty

DOI

10.1080/26410397.2023.2215567

Journal Title

Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters

First Page

2215567

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-1-2023

Department

Obstetrics and Gynecology

Abstract

This article focuses on access to early medical abortion care under Section 12 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, in Ireland and identifies existing barriers resulting from gaps in current policy design. The article draws primarily on qualitative interviews with 24 service users, 20 primary healthcare providers in the community and 27 key informants, including from grassroots groups that work with women from different migrant communities, to examine service users' experiences accessing early medical abortions on request up to 12 weeks gestation. The interviews were part of a wider mixed-methods study from 2020-2021 examining the barriers and facilitators to the implementation of abortion policy in Ireland. Our findings highlight care seekers' experiences with the GP-led service provision, including delays, facing non-providers, the mandatory three-day waiting period, and oversubscribed women's health and family planning clinics. Our findings also highlight the compounding challenges for migrants and additional barriers posed by the geographical distribution of the service and the 12-week gestational limit. Finally, it focuses on the remaining challenges for racialised and other marginalised groups. In order to provide a "thick description" of women's lives and the complexity of their experiences with abortion services in Ireland, we also present two narrative vignettes of service users, and their experiences with delays and navigating the healthcare system as migrants. To this effect, this article applies a reproductive justice framework to the results to highlight the compounding effects of these barriers on people located along multiple axes of social inequality.

Recommended Citation

Chakravarty, D., Mishtal, J., Grimes, L., Reeves, K., Stifani, B., Duffy, D., Murphy, M., Favier, M., Horgan, P., Chavkin, W., & Lavelanet, A. (2023). Restrictive Points of Entry Into Abortion Care in Ireland: A Qualitative Study of Expectations and Experiences With the Service. Sexual and Reproductive Health Matters, 31 (1), 2215567. https://doi.org/10.1080/26410397.2023.2215567