Ireland – Minister defends decision not to distinguish between miscarriage and abortion in new leave law

Peter Burke says women should not be asked the reason for their pregnancy loss

Vivienne Clarke
Wed Jul 15 2026

Minister for Enterprise Peter Burke has defended the decision not to distinguish between a pregnancy termination and a miscarriage under a new law that will grant five days’ sick leave for early pregnancy loss.

On Tuesday, the Cabinet approved the general scheme of the legislation, which will give women who have experienced pregnancy loss an entitlement to five days of leave once the loss has been certified by their doctor, including in cases where the pregnancy ended in an abortion.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2026/07/15/minister-defends-decision-not-to-distinguish-between-miscarriage-and-abortion-in-new-leave-law/

15.07.2026

News

fatal foetal abnormality

Oireachtas Caucus for Women

paid leave for pregnancy loss

Eight Years After Repeal, Irish Women Are Still Waiting for Change

Lily van den Bergh
June 29, 2026

The recent passage of Sinn Féin’s bill abolishing Ireland’s mandatory three-day abortion waiting period has been celebrated as a significant step forward for reproductive rights. However, its success also brings to light the uncomfortable truth that while Ireland may present itself as a modern nation, its treatment of women’s reproductive rights remains rooted in its legacy of conservatism. Only weeks earlier, the Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill, championed by Social Democrats leader Holly Cairns, was defeated in the Dáil despite proposing far broader reforms to Ireland’s abortion legislation. While Sinn Féin’s bill addresses the patronising three-day waiting period, the Social Democrats’ proposal sought to build upon legislation introduced during the Repeal The Eighth movement in 2018 by also addressing the criminalisation of healthcare professionals and other barriers to abortion access. Though the removal of the waiting period should be welcomed, we must ask ourselves why, eight years after one of the largest feminist movements in Irish history, women’s political priorities are still struggling to translate into legislative change.

Continued: https://universitytimes.ie/2026/06/eight-years-after-repeal-irish-women-are-still-waiting-for-change/

Ireland – The three-day wait to access an abortion will be removed – but what did a review of abortion laws also recommend?

Maeve McTaggart
20 Jun 2026

The removal of the three-day wait for a woman seeking a termination of pregnancy would be the most significant change to Ireland’s abortion laws since 2018.

It was one of the recommendations made by an independent review of the legislation and how it was working, but what else did barrister Marie O’Shea advise – and are the recommendations being progressed?

The Department of Health commissioned the review into the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, which was published in 2023.

Continued: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/politics/the-three-day-wait-to-access-an-abortion-will-be-removed-but-what-did-a-review-of-abortion-laws-also-recommend/a/157427496.html

Ireland – Women cannot wait any longer for abortion care reform

Government must implement abortion review recommendations now
Ivana Bacik TD
17 June 2026

Labour Leader Ivana Bacik TD has called on Government to urgently implement all recommendations of the O’Shea Review into abortion services and set out a clear timeline for reforming Ireland’s abortion laws. Speaking during Leaders’ Questions in the Dáil today, Deputy Bacik said that while the Taoiseach’s support for removing the mandatory three-day waiting period was welcome, much broader reform is needed to ensure women can access healthcare in Ireland without unnecessary obstacles or having to travel abroad.

Deputy Bacik said: “Women across Ireland are still being failed by a healthcare system that continues to place unnecessary barriers between them and the care they need. Despite the historic repeal of the Eighth Amendment in 2018, at least 1,500 women have travelled abroad for abortion care since then. For those women, the promise of accessible reproductive healthcare has not yet been fulfilled.

Continued: https://labour.ie/news/2026/06/17/women-cannot-wait-any-longer-for-abortion-care-reform/

17.06.2026

Opinion

3-day waiting requirement

fatal foetal abnormality

Ivana Bacik

O'Shea Review of abortion services

Ireland – Dáil rejects Social Democrats abortion reform Bill

Two Government Ministers abstain while three backbenchers support move to committee stage

Marie O’Halloran
Wed May 13 2026

The Social Democrats abortion reform Bill was defeated in the Dáil on Wednesday by 85 votes to 30, with 36 abstentions, including all Sinn Féin TDs.

Government TDs had a free vote on the Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill as a matter of conscience.

While a majority rejected the legislation, Fine Gael TDs Grace Boland and Barry Ward voted in favour of moving the Bill to committee stage, as did Fianna Fáil TD Catherine Ardagh.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/oireachtas/2026/05/13/free-vote-matter-of-conscience-for-government-tds-on-abortion-reform-bill/

Sri Lanka – End the silence on abortion law reform

Editorial
11 Feb 2026

Sri Lanka continues to live with one of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world, rooted in sections of the Penal Code enacted in 1883. This colonial-era law criminalises abortion in almost all circumstances, allowing it only when the life of the pregnant woman is at risk. Nearly 150 years later, the country is still governed by legal assumptions formed in a very different world. The cost of this inaction is borne by women and girl children, particularly survivors of rape, victims of incest, and those forced to carry pregnancies with fatal foetal abnormalities.

Calls to reform this law are not new, nor are they reckless. They have emerged repeatedly over decades, led by medical professionals, legal scholars and public health experts, who confront the human consequences of the law every day. Academic research published by the Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka and scholars writing in local medical and legal journals consistently show that criminalisation does not prevent abortion. It only pushes it underground, increasing the risk of physical harm, psychological trauma and death.

Continued: https://www.themorning.lk/articles/EVIAFfyhzQpIICtfVhrp

11.02.2026

Editorial

abortion law reform

Family Planning Association of Sri Lanka

fatal foetal abnormality

Law Commission of Sri Lanka

maternal morbidity

maternal mortality

National Action Plan for Human Rights

Poland – How to Maneuver Around Acknowledging the Right to Access Abortion

Some Thoughts on the ECtHR’s judgment in M.L. v Poland

Written by Sissy Katsoni
January 11, 2024

On 14 December 2023, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR, Court) issued its much-awaited judgment in M.L. v Poland, i.e. in one of the approximately 1000 applications submitted before it regarding the Polish restrictive abortion policy. The application concerned the alleged violation of the applicant’s rights under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), as she had to travel abroad to a private clinic to terminate her pregnancy despite carrying a foetus that was diagnosed with Trisomy 21. This barrier was a result of the legislative amendments that were introduced by the Polish Constitutional Court’s judgment of 22 October 2020, which effectively banned access to abortion even in cases of foetal abnormalities. This blog post seeks to highlight the shortcomings of the judgment against the background of other human rights bodies’ jurisprudence, and to criticise the Court’s manoeuvring around the explicit acknowledgement and stronger protection of abortion rights under the ECHR.

Continued: https://www.ejiltalk.org/how-to-maneuver-around-acknowledging-the-right-to-access-abortion-some-thoughts-on-the-ecthrs-judgment-in-m-l-v-poland/

Croatia: Mirela Čavajda: Rally in Support of Women Health Rights on Thursday 12th

By Jose Alfonso Cussianovich
9 May 2022

May 9, 2022 - Mirela Čavajda, a 39-year-old pregnant woman who requested an abortion in the 26th week of pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor, had her request rejected by three hospitals in Zagreb. Donations from 1,472 citizens and 16 legal entities will cover Mirela's medical procedure that will take place in Slovenia.

The case of Mirela Čavajda, a 39-year-old pregnant woman whose request to have an abortion in the 26th week of pregnancy after the fetus was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor was rejected by three hospitals in Zagreb, has caused great outrage in the country, with demands for the reproductive rights and health rights of Croatian women to be respected.

Continued: https://www.total-croatia-news.com/lifestyle/62700-mirela-cavajda

Gibraltar votes to ease tough abortion laws

June 24, 2021

Gibraltar voted to relax its tough anti-abortion laws in a referendum on Thursday.

The tiny British territory has some of the harshest abortion laws in Europe - the penalty for breaching the law is life imprisonment.

Voters backed relaxing the rules to allow abortions where a woman's mental or physical health is at risk or when foetuses have fatal physical defects.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-57606228

24.06.2021

fatal foetal abnormality

Gibraltar abortion referendum

Gibraltar Health Authority

Irish couple to receive damages over advice that led to unnecessary abortion

Rebecca Price terminated pregnancy after being mistakenly told foetus had fatal abnormality

Rory Carroll, Ireland correspondent
Wed 23 Jun 2021

A couple in Ireland are to be awarded damages for being mistakenly told their unborn baby had a fatal foetal abnormality, which led them to terminate the pregnancy.

The high court in Dublin will consider the damages to be paid to Rebecca Price and Patrick Kiely on Wednesday after medical personnel and institutions involved in the case admitted liability.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/23/irish-couple-to-receive-damages-over-advice-that-led-to-unnecessary-abortion

23.06.2021