13 Jun 2026
Sinn Féin is to bring forward legislation to remove a three-day wait period for abortions in early pregnancy.
At present, there is a three-day waiting period between GP consultations prior to a termination. Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald announced the party will move legislation in the Dáil on Tuesday to remove this provision.
She said: “We believe that this legislation will be passed. The three-day wait should never have been introduced and has had serious consequences.
More people regret knee surgery than abortion. So why is the patriarchy still scaring us with lifelong torment?
Roe McDermott, The Guardian
Tue 26 May 2026
Ireland’s parliament, the Dáil, voted down a reproductive rights amendment bill this month that would have abolished the country’s mandatory three-day waiting period for access to an abortion. Supporters of the unsuccessful reform bill, tabled by the Social Democrats, argued that the delay serves no medical purpose.
As the bill moved through political debate and media coverage, those defending the requirement to wait three days from the time of requesting an abortion before care can be accessed barely attempted to argue otherwise, instead structuring their opposition to reform around the idea that women cannot be trusted to know what they want. The waiting period, which is not required in most European countries, was repeatedly described as “a cooling off” period; time to “reflect”, “reconsider”, “rethink”. Supporters of the status quo spoke extensively of wanting to save women from feelings of regret.
Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2026/may/26/abortion-trauma-myth-irish-women-patriarchy
The three-day wait for an abortion in Ireland is medically unnecessary, patronising, and unjustified, writes Aisling McGee
Sun, 24 May, 2026
Aisling McGee
In my first week at university, I wrote that “laws are in a constant state of motion”. At the time, I believed Ireland was a utopian society; that our laws and legislation evolved alongside the people they governed.
Perhaps it was naivety, or even just hopeful optimism. After all, I grew up listening to stories about my grandmother May McGee and the battle she had to fight for her own autonomy.
Six years after I wrote those words, I no longer believe them.
Continued: https://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion/commentanalysis/arid-41849346.html
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.
Ruth Coppinger says 72-hour delay ‘does not apply to any other medical procedure that we have in law’
Marie O’Halloran
Thu Jan 29 2026
Legislation to abolish the three-day waiting period for abortion on request has been introduced in the Dáil.
Solidarity TD Ruth Coppinger said “termination of pregnancy is a health procedure that is extremely time sensitive” and the 2018 Act introduced a mandatory 72-hour cooling off period before a second appointment to access abortion.
Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill said the Government was not opposing the legislation “at first stage”.
Legislation passed second stage in previous Dáil but TDs decided by 73 to 71 to reject Bill
Marie O’Halloran
Wed Dec 17 2025
The Dáil has voted by 73 to 71 not to restore a Private Member’s Bill on abortion to the order paper after it fell with the dissolution of the last Dáil. It is the closest vote in this Dáil session.
Government TDs had a free vote on the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Bill, which abolishes the three-day waiting period for abortion on request.
Motion to extend period during which women can get an abortion from 12 to 14 weeks however fails
Cordula Schnuer, Editor-in-chief
July 9, 2025
Parliament this week scrapped a mandatory three-day waiting period between seeking a doctor’s consultation on an abortion and the procedure being carried out.
The government in January had sent the draft law to the Chamber of Deputies for review and adoption as part of the regular lawmaking proceedings. The assembly on Tuesday voted on the text, with a broad majority - all parties except for the right-wing populist ADR - supporting the bill.
Statement from the Center for Reproductive Rights on stalled abortion law reform in Germany
Feb 12, 2025
The Center for Reproductive Rights expresses deep disappointment over the failure of Germany’s Legal Affairs Committee to advance a cross party proposal aimed at modernising the country’s outdated abortion laws and improving access to essential reproductive care.
Introduced in November, the proposal sought to fully legalise abortion on request up to 12 weeks and remove the mandatory three-day waiting period, among other key reforms. It followed a report from a government-appointed expert commission, released last year, which highlighted how Germany’s current abortion law falls short of international human rights and public health standards.
Continued: https://reproductiverights.org/germany-fails-abortion-law-reform/
Femke COLBORNE
Dec 7, 2024
German campaigners are pushing for reform to remove legal hurdles for women seeking an abortion, with emotions running high on the issue as the country heads for early elections.
Under German law, abortion is illegal but tolerated in practice for women who are up to 12 weeks pregnant. However, a woman seeking to terminate a pregnancy must first receive compulsory counselling, followed by a three-day waiting period and many doctors say the process can be complicated as well as traumatic.
A left-wing cross-party initiative in Germany has been launched to decriminalize abortion in the early stages of pregnancy. Polls show public support, but conservative lawmakers are opposed.
Julie Gregson
Dec 2, 2024
Lawmakers from Germany's center-left parties want to make abortion legal in Germany — in the first three months of pregnancy.
Germany's paragraph 218 outlawing abortions first entered the statute books in 1871 and has long been controversial. While abortion remains illegal, women since the 1990s have been permitted to have them within the first three months of pregnancy without risk of prosecution if they undergo counseling at least three days before the procedure. Terminations in the case of rape or when the woman's mental or physical health is at risk are also exempt from punishment.
Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/abortion-in-germany-preelection-push-for-liberalization/a-70922840
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