2026-05-07

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to amend the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 to abolish the mandatory three day wait rule for access to a termination of pregnancy. This is a straightforward and targeted Bill. It does just one thing. It proposes to remove the mandatory three-day wait for access to an abortion during early pregnancy. It does not require an abortion to happen on the day of a first consultation, but where a woman is certain that this is what she wants, it allows her to make that decision for herself in her own time about her own pregnancy without a mandatory delay. Under the current law, where a woman attends a doctor seeking a termination of pregnancy within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, the doctor cannot certify the procedure until three days have passed. Our Bill deletes that requirement. It allows certification to take place as soon as may be, but before the pregnancy has exceeded 12 weeks. This is important because the clear feedback from women and the review of the principal Act was that some women were being pushed beyond the 12-week threshold by the three-day wait, which denied them their choice to end a pregnancy. This is not a complicated proposal. It is a focused, practical and compassionate change. My party has always been clear and consistent that we did not approve of the mandatory waiting period, that it put women in difficult positions and that it was not compassionate to women who had suffered rape or sexual assault, women who learned of their pregnancy late or women who are subject to controlling or abusive partners, for whom that first appointment may be the only appointment they can get. The three-day wait has long been recognised as unnecessary. It was examined as part of the review of the operation of the Act. Its removal was one of the clearest recommendations arising from that process. We have all recognised, in law and in policy, that a woman should have access to abortion services in the first trimester on the basis of her own free choice. This was the compassionate position put before the people in 2018, which I and many in this House supported, and it is the basis on which services have been provided since. The question before us now is whether the State should continue to impose an arbitrary delay after a woman has made her decision and presented to a doctor. I do not believe that it should. The waiting period does not provide care. It does not provide support. It does not make the service safer. It simply makes access harder and more difficult, especially for those who can least afford delay. It can create real difficulty for women - women who have travelled long distances, women arranging time off work or childcare, women in crisis or women living with coercive, controlling partners or domestic violence. For many women, having to return days later is not a small inconvenience. It can be a very serious barrier. Removing the mandatory waiting period does not mean that a termination must take place on the first day. It does not remove a woman’s ability to take more time if that is what she wants. If she does, all of the supports should be made available to the woman at that point. That option should and will always remain for women. What this Bill does is remove the requirement that the State must force every woman to wait, regardless of her circumstances, her decision, her health or her needs. The Bill clearly sets out the Sinn Féin policy that was endorsed at our Ard-Fheis a fortnight ago. I thank the Bills Office for its swift facilitation of this Bill, which I am introducing as soon as possible following the Ard-Fheis, as mandated by our party membership. The Bill strikes the right balance. It is the right change to make. It is overdue. It respects women’s decisions and it removes an unnecessary barrier to care. There are many other issues that these Houses should and must work through arising from the review of the Act. It raised many issues that we have to carefully work through, which will take some time. While that work is being done, there is no cause for delay the passage of this Bill. The review of the Act was clear. The view of women who have used abortion services is clear. The mandatory wait is a barrier, and it should be removed. I commend the Bill to the House, and note that we intend to move this Bill on Second Stage when we get an opportunity to do so.

Is the Bill opposed?

No.

Since this is a Private Members' Bill, Second Stage must, under Standing Orders, be taken in Private Members' time.

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."