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Irish Abortion Statistics
At least 123,258 women travelled from Ireland to the UK for abortions between January 1980 and December 2005.
5,585 women travelled to the UK for abortions in 2005. Women aged between 20 – 30 years represented the majority of those who travelled to Britain for abortion services in 2004.
These figures undercount the amount of women travelling to the UK for abortions as they only include those who choose to give Irish addresses to clinics at which they obtain abortion services.
These figures only represent the women who are travelling to the UK to access abortion services. The IFPA have increasingly noticed that there are women attending their post abortion medical and counselling services who have had their terminations in other European counties including the Netherlands, Belgium and Spain. Lower airfares and access to the internet has enabled Irish women to investigate other options outside of Britain.
There is a real need for Irish statistics on abortion. Unless we can develop a real picture of the numbers of women travelling for abortion services, we will not be in a position to develop strategies and services that deal with the needs of women.
Statistics produced by the Department of Health in Britain demonstrate quite clearly that neither the Eighth Amendment nor the restrictions on information which flowed from it, lessened the number of women travelling from Ireland for abortions in Britain. In fact, the number has increased from 3,677 in 1984 to 5,585 in 2005.
Crisis Pregnancy Indices – Ireland
The Irish Contraception and Crisis Pregnancy Study (ICCP)1 found that some 12% of all pregnancies experienced by women were defined as crises. It noted that 28% of female and 23% of male respondents defined at least one pregnancy experience as a crisis. The study also found that younger women were more likely to have experienced a crisis pregnancy than older women. A statistical report of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency in 2005 pointed to additional analysis which aimed to estimate the extent of crisis pregnancy in the Irish population. Using data from the ICCP survey and the CSO population statistics, the analysis suggests that 11% of 18-25 year old women, 19% of 26-35 year old women and 18% of women aged 36-45 have experienced a crisis pregnancy.2
1Rundle, Leigh, McGee and Layte. Irish Contraception and Crisis Pregnancy Study. Crisis Pregnancy Agency. 2004
2McGrath, O’Keefe and Smith. Crisis Pregnancy Agency Statistical Report 2005: Fertility and Crisis Pregnancy Indices. Crisis Pregnancy Agency 2005.
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