Under Section 12 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, entitled “Early pregnancy”, subsection 3 provides:

“(3) The termination of pregnancy shall not be carried out by a medical practitioner unless a period of not less than 3 days has elapsed from—

(a) the date of certification under subsection (2) by that medical practitioner, or

(b) where a certification was previously made in respect of the pregnancy by another medical practitioner for the purposes of subsection (2), the date of that previous certification.”

In the weeks leading up to the Referendum, the government frequently mentioned the presence of a 72 hour “cooling-off period” in the new abortion legislation. In the 2018 Act, however, a “cooling off” period is never mentioned explicitly. It merely states that 3 days must pass between the certification from the GP and the abortion itself, without clarification as to whether this means 3 business days or simply any 3 consecutive days.

In the weeks leading up to the Referendum, the government frequently mentioned the presence of a 72 hour “cooling off period” in the new abortion legislation. In the proposed Bill, however, a “cooling off” period is never mentioned explicitly. It merely states that 3 days must pass between the certification from the GP and the abortion itself, without clarification as to whether this means 3 business days or simply any 3 consecutive days. That’s it. No scan. No help offered. No suggestion for reflection.

That’s it. No scan. No help offered. No suggestion for reflection.

We have launched a campaign around this 3 day window called “Second Chance”. We believe that every support should be made available to women to help them bring their pregnancy to term. Our campaign involves the promotion of a leaflet in all GP clinics across the country, which outlines the supports that are available to pregnant women in Ireland. This leaflet goes through positive alternatives to abortion and all the various support services available for pregnant women. A PDF of this leaflet is attached below.