The medical necessity to make abortion more accessible in a pandemic proves that it’s time to end sexist & unnecessary restrictions.

The Irish government has announced that the two legally required doctor consultations for those seeking access to early abortion can now be conducted over the phone, something the same Taoiseach and Minister for Health denied when the legislation was first brought in. Of course the second consultation is still a waste of medical resources and was not brought in for any medical need, one consultation will suffice for most abortion seekers.

Nonetheless, it’s a significant concession that the Government has made in the midst of the height of a pandemic, out of the urgent healthcare necessity of making medical abortion accessible. These changes have temporarily made accessing early abortion with pills at home a bit easier for those faced with an unwanted pregnancy. This easier accesss (i.e. a choice to do a phone consultation with your GP if this is what you would prefer, in order to access abortion pills) must remain in place after the pandemic crisis has subsided. A 2017 study found that telemedicine abortion (remote consultation with a doctor who prescribes the pills to take at home) is just as safe as medical abortion performed in the presence of a doctor. In fact, in-person abortion patients had a complication rate of 0.32 percent, whereas the telemedicine complication rate was even lower, at 0.18 percent. 

These temporary changes have proven that initial restrictions have no medical basis. They were brought in to placate conservative politicians harbouring sexist views about regulating and controlling women and pregnant people’s bodies. No other common medical procedure is subjected to the type of detailed legal regulation that abortion is. This appears to be just another way of subtly policing women’s bodies by making essential medical procedures tedious to access.

After the coronavirus related restrictions on movement are eased, there should be no return to reintroducing unnecessary restrictions. This will be a huge assist to women and pregnant people who face the most barriers and restrictions. Women in abusive relationships, those in direct provision, those who are lone parents, those working multiple jobs, those who cannot access or afford childcare, women living in remote areas etc. may not have the luxury of time or ability to travel to access two different GPs. Furthermore, the laws regulating later term abortions that have proven to prevent access to terminations for those tragically faced with a diagnosis of a fatal foetal abnormality, must be repealed. This is an unacceptable and inhumane situation now, in the time of the pandemic crisis when travel is restricted, and also at all times in general.

Bodily autonomy is a basic human right which was recently endorsed en masse in a popular vote. While the degrees of restriction added to it by the government has been eased during the pandemic crisis, the easing of these restrictions need to remain in place even after the crisis of the pandemic is mitigated. Bodily autonomy in its entirety needs to become the norm and abortion needs to become easier to access. Any degree of restriction to that is an impediment to human basic rights.