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Latest reports suggest that the government's draft abortion laws will contain a period of reflection in the first trimester.

A 10-page document seen by The Irish Times revealed how women seeking abortions will have to wait for a certain amount of time to “elapse” before the medication is administrated.

It's understood the draft will commit to legislating for termination in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Two doctors will have to sign off on a termination on the grounds of a risk to a woman’s health (physical or mental) or her life.

In the cases of fatal foetal abnormalities, two medical professionals will be asked to determine whether an abortion can be provided.

The news comes as we await an important ruling from The Supreme Court on the rights of the unborn, the details of which could impact the forthcoming referendum.

It follows a High Court ruling which stated that babies in the womb could have similar rights to children.

The Cabinet are due to hold a special meeting on Thursday to finalise the wording of the Referendum Bill.

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Speaking in Limerick, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has given further insight into his thoughts on the 8th Amendment.

When asked his opinion on Micheál Martin's announcement earlier this week that he supports a repeal of the 8th, Varadkar reiterated that he believes it is a ‘personal and private issue.’

He continued to say: ‘I've said before that I believe our laws are too restrictive and need to be reformed and need to be liberalised, and of course, that requires a change to the constitution.’

‘But, part of leadership is to listen and I want to listen to public opinion, the citizens assembly, my own party members, and also listen to the debate in the Dáil and Seanad,’ he said.

He also emphasized that the wording of the referendum is vital.

‘I want to actually know what that question is before asking people to say yes or no," he said.

Varadkar is expected to reveal his own views on the 8th at the end of this month.

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Health Minster Simon Harris opened this evening's “historic” debate on the Eight Amendment by revealing figures showing the amount of women who have travelled for abortions since 1980.

“This is happening in Ireland today. That's a fact. How can we ignore it? How can we consider it alright?” he asked the Dáil.

During his opening statement, the Fine Gael TD said it was important to recognise the “sad reality that we have been exporting this issue,” before bringing attention to new figures which showed that 3,265 women travelled to the UK from Ireland for an abortion in 2016.

A county-by-county breakdown revealed that 1,175 of the women travelled from Dublin, with others mainly coming from Cork (241), Kildare (130) and Galway (113).

“These are not faceless women. They are our friends and neighbours, sisters, cousins, mothers, aunts, wives,” the Health Minister said.

“Each woman is dealing with her own personal situation and making what is a deeply difficult decision.”

The figures also showed that over 1,500 women were aged between 20 and 29, while 255 were over 40.

10 girls under the age of 16 were shown to have travelled for an abortion in 2016.

Meanwhile, over 50 per cent of the women said they were either married or in a relationship.

“I can’t help but wonder what we would have done if we didn’t have a neighbouring island to help us turn a blind eye. And sometimes turning a blind eye is the same as turning your back.”

The Government have agreed to draft a Bill that would allow a referendum on the Eighth Amendment to take place, though the wording of the bill has not yet been finalised.

Discussions are expected to continue into tomorrow.

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Katie Ascough, the former president of the UCD Student Union, elaborated on her pro-life stance while speaking with Marian Finucane on RTÉ Radio 1 this weekend.

Katie, who was impeached after making the decision to remove information pertaining to abortion from the university's Fresher handbook, told the host that her pro-life stance also applies to cases of rape.

The 20-year-old, whose pro-life opinion intensified after her mother suffered a miscarriage in recent years, explained that while she considers rape 'an abhorrent crime', she feels a termination is an unwise response.

"Rape is one of the most abhorrent crimes towards women and I completely condemn it. In fact I think we need to look at having more serious sentences for rapists in Ireland," she said.

“But at the same time, I do not think that abortion is the answer to this," Katie added.

Arguing that women who terminate a pregnancy following rape essentially punish the foetus as opposed to the father, Katie suggested that increased support would reduce the number of women who opt to abort in these cases.

"The child should not have to bear the brunt of their father’s crime. The child should not be essentially sentenced to death for what their father has done."

"I think we need to support them in as many ways as we can but at the same time, when it comes to bodily autonomy, there are two people involved in a pregnancy," Katie said. 

"A child’s heart starts beating at 21 days. And I don’t think we can ignore that."

Katie was voted out of office by 69 per cent of voters last month.

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Women from Northern Ireland will now have access to free abortion services through the NHS in Scotland.

The new regulations, which were announced in July of this year, come into force today, Monday, November 6.

The Scottish government have also vowed to address any “barriers” that women may face while travelling to Scotland for the service.

Public Health Minister, Aileen Campbell, said: “Abortion can be an emotive subject – however, I am proud this government is working hard to ensure women are always able to access clinically safe services.”

“That's why we have taken action to ensure that women from Northern Ireland can freely access abortion services through NHS Scotland.”

“I also recognise the barriers that women from Northern Ireland face when they have to travel to access abortion services which is why we are exploring what more we can do to address them.”

Northern Ireland is the only country in the United Kingdom where a ban on terminations remains in place.

Exceptions are only made in cases where a woman's physical or mental health is at risk.

As a result, hundreds of women of forced to travel and pay huge fees every year in order to avail of the procedure privately.

The announcement comes after the UK government announced in June of this year that it would offer NI women free abortion services in England.

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After weeks of obstruction by the Trump administration, a 17-year-old undocumented immigrant was finally able to terminate her pregnancy on Wednesday morning.

The girl, known as Jane Doe in the courts, entered the US in September and discovered she was pregnant while in federal custody at a facility for unaccompanied minors in South Texas.

On September 25, she obtained a court order permitting her to undergo the procedure, but federal officials refused to transport her or grant her temporary release.

According to The Independent, her lawyers say government officials had illegally denied her the medical care she was entitled to, and claim that the staff at the shelter she was staying in had taken her to a crisis pregnancy centre to try to discourage her from terminating the pregnancy.

The teen was eventually granted permission to have the procedure after a lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union against the US Department of Health and Human Services.

The US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled six-three in favour of the teen.

Speaking to The Associated Press, Brigitte Amiri, a lawyer who argued for the teen in court said: “I'm relieved for Jane Doe, but I'm so incredibly frustrated that we had to go through all of this for what is a very well-settled constitutional right.”

Oh, and one more thing while we have you! Don't forget that you can catch up on all your favourite shows for free for a month right here, so sign up now!

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The British government will fund abortions for Northern Irish women who travel to England, it was today announced.

The news, announced by Chancellor Philip Hammond, comes following mounting pressure from MPs calling for the government to provide funds to those women who are forced to travel for terminations.

Northern Ireland remains the only county in the United Kingdom where abortion is illegal, expect in cases where the life or mental health of the mother are at risk.

Should a woman wish to have an abortion, she must do so privately and travel to England at her own expense, despite paying UK taxes, which contribute to the NHS.

A proposed amendment to the Queen's Speech, coordinated by Labour lawmaker, Stella Creasy, gathered widespread support throughout the House of Commons.

The proposal asked the government to ensure "the provision of adequate funding and guidance so that all UK citizens including those from Northern Ireland may access medical services including abortion procedures in England if they so wish without charge."

However, it is thought that today's announcement will be enough to satisfy Tory MPs enough to ensure that Ms Creasy's amendment does not pass, or she withdraws it.

The Labour MP took to Twitter to react to today's announcement:

Charities across the UK and Ireland have also welcomed the move with a spokesperson from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service saying:

"We are absolutely delighted that the government has committed to funding abortion care for women who travel from Northern Ireland to England."

"This is a landmark moment: for years the women of Northern Ireland, despite being UK citizens and taxpayers, have not been entitled to NHS-funded treatment."

Stella Casey has also vowed to help the women of Northern Ireland to fight for their rights in their own country 

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The Irish Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform intends to demonstrate at Irish airports to discourage women from leaving the country to seek abortions.

The 'airport education project' will hold graphic signs featuring images of what it alleges to be aborted foetuses in an attempt to shock the woman out of leaving for abortions.

The Centre also says it will reimburse the airline tickets for those who do not leave the country for their terminations.

The project appealed for volunteers and funding in a recent press release and newsletter to supporters.

'On average 15 women are travelling to the UK via our International Airports to undergo ‘abortion treatment’ or ‘abortion care’ at BPAS or Marie Stopes every working day Monday to Friday,' reads the release.  

'Standing at the airport in the mornings with these images of first trimester prenatal and abortion images entering and leaving these facilities, that expand their cashiers by evacuating wombs, is certain to expose the deception and provide recourse to abortion vulnerable women who no longer want to go through with it.'

'The more days we can organise volunteers to stand there, the more women will see these images and the fewer will undergo abortion.'

The demonstrations aim to take place between Saturday 29 July and Sunday 13 August at Dublin Airport and Cork Airport.

This will be followed by rallies in the city centres later. 

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Two women who were at risk of suicide were denied abortions in Ireland. 

Both women had tried to commit suicide more than once, and sought to have legal abortions. 

The women were immigrants who would have needed a Visa to travel to the UK to procure a termination, according to the Abortion Support Network 

'Both of these women were basically told that they weren't suicidal enough,' Mara Clarke, the founder of the Abortion Support Network charity, told The Times.

'One woman was refused her visa to travel for an abortion and attempted suicide for the third time,' she said.

After the third attempt, the woman was granted a termination. 

'The termination was carried out much later than it should have been because of the delay,' she said. 

In response to the revelations, Minister for Health Simon Harris reportedly said: 'This is an issue that, as a nation, we now need to deal with definitively.'

The Abortion Support Network provides financial assistance and accommodation to women forced to travel fom the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and the Isle of Man to access abortion services.

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With Leo Varadkar stating last night that an abortion referendum will be held in Ireland next year, there's no better time for the release of Twice Shy.

The movie depicts a young couple travelling over to the UK to seek out an abortion, something many women in Ireland have had to go through.

The timely indie narrative features Ardal O'Hanlon and Pat Shortt, with the main roles being played by Shane Murray-Corcoran and Iseult Casey.

Twice Shy documents the ups and downs that the relationship faces on its dramatic journey to the abortion clinic, and will also have flashbacks of happier times in the romance.

The film also boasts a soundtrack with some of Ireland’s top musical talents including Ash, Gavin James, Republic of Loose and The Corrs.

It was filmed in Tipperary, Dublin and London, and has hit numerous festivals since its world debut at the Galway Film Fleadh last year.

Looking at the trailer, it's chilling and heart-wrenching, and we believe it needs to be seen by everyone in this country.

The thought-provoking movie will be released in Ireland on June 23, and you can watch the trailer below:

 

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Currently, women who reside in Northern Ireland are not eligible to receive free abortions on the NHS, despite being citizens of the United Kingdom.

However, the UK's highest court is to rule on a legal battle around this issue after a case was brought forward by a 20-year-old woman and her mother.

The woman at the centre of the appeal was just 15-years-old when she and her mother travelled to Manchester in October 2012.

She was told she would have to pay hundreds of pounds for a termination as she was not entitled to the free services.

The mother and daughter, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had originally lost their action in the London High Courts when a judge ruled that the exclusion was lawful in May 2014.

They then suffered another defeat at the Court of Appeal in 2015.

The Supreme Court's deputy president Lady Hale and four other justices are ruling on their challenge against that earlier decision.

During proceedings last year, the justices heard how the women of Northern Ireland were being treated as “second-class citizens.”

Stephen Cragg QC (Queen's Counsel), for the mother and daughter, told the court: " They live in the UK, but – unlike all other women and girls in the UK – they are at risk of the most serious criminal penalty if they procure an abortion in their own area."

He also pointed out that  "unlike all other women and girls in the UK", they "cannot access abortion services through the NHS free of charge", adding: "In terms of reproductive rights, they are second-class citizens."

The news comes following statistics published by the UK Department of Health showing that 3,265 women from the Republic of Ireland and 724 women from Northern Ireland travelled to the UK for terminations in 2016.   

Feature Image: The Independent

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The United Nations Human Rights Committee has ruled against Irish abortion laws for the second time in just over a year.

The committee ruled that the treatment of a woman who was denied an abortion in 2010 was cruel, inhuman and degrading.

After being denied a termination in Ireland, Siobhan Whelan travelled to the UK after learning of a fatal foetal abnormality.

Speaking about the ruling, Leah Hocter from the European Centre for Reproductive Rights explained:

"It is obliged, under international law, to guarantee non repetition of the violations she endured," she said.

"And what this means is that Ireland must take effective measures to ensure that other women do not have to face similar violations in the future.

"As a result, the committee has outlined that Ireland is obliged to undertake law reform, to change its laws on abortion so as to legalise abortion in Ireland."

This ruling follows a similar case in June 2016 when another Irish woman's human rights were violated after she was refused a termination on Irish soil.

Amanda Mellet was 21-weeks pregnant when she learned that her child would not survive outside the womb due to a condition known as Edwards' syndrome.

After being told this devastating news, Amanda was given two options – carry to full term, or seek an abortion abroad.

Amanda spent €3,000 on a termination in Liverpool, and stayed for just 12 hours as she could not afford to spend the night.

She was later compensated €30,000 following a ruling by the United Nations Human Rights Committee. 

With Ireland's strict abortion laws in desperate need of reform, groups like Amnesty International have welcomed the UN's ruling, saying:

“While we welcome this ruling, it is outrageous that women have to go to the UN to have their human rights respected.”

A thought surely echoed by women across the country today.  

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