Having voted to overturn its abortion ban with a national referendum, Ireland is beginning to implement access to the procedure. It’s now available in 22 out of 26 counties—and, despite concerns, there’s been hearteningly little backlash.
The Guardian reported that advocates were braced for the possibility but—not to jinx it—none seems to have emerged:
“We’re going around wondering, ‘are they planning something we’ve missed?’” said Mary Favier, a prominent pro-choice campaigner and GP who provides abortion services in Cork. “But we can’t see what it’s going to be.”
Besides a fleeting protest in Galway – half a dozen people with placards picketed a surgery for a few hours – abortion has become available in 22 of Ireland’s 26 counties with barely any fuss.
“People have been pragmatic and got on with it,” said Tom O’Dowd, who has a surgery in west Dublin. “US-style picketing doesn’t seem to work here.”
The bigger problem, according to the Guardian, has been getting doctors enlisted quickly enough to match the speed of the rollout—but without a huge negative response, that’s likely a simple issue of getting the training done.
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