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Sinn Féin is set to bring forward a bill to scrap the 3-day wait period before abortion in the Dáil next Tuesday evening.
The Bill is seeking to remove the mandatory three‑day waiting period before an abortion can be certified. However, critics say getting rid of the time to reflect could increase the already spiralling abortion rate with close to 11,000 abortions in the most recent year for with statistics are available alone.
The party says the current requirement is “unnecessary”, “arbitrary”, and a barrier to access, but the proposal is likely to spark renewed debate over the safeguards originally promised during the 2018 referendum.
The Bill, introduced by Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane, would amend the 2018 abortion legislation to delete the statutory pause between a woman’s first consultation and the certification of an abortion.
When introducing the Bill, Cullinane told the Dáil that the measure is “straightforward and targeted”, insisting that the waiting period “does not provide care, does not provide support, and does not make the service safer”.
“The mandatory wait is a barrier, and it should be removed,” he said, adding that Sinn Féin had been “clear and consistent” in opposing the requirement since 2018.
The Bill also reflects a policy position endorsed at the party’s most recent Ard Fheis.
Critics of removing the waiting period have long argued that the three‑day pause was a key safeguard presented to voters during the referendum campaign, intended to ensure space for reflection and support.
Pro‑life groups, such as the Life Institute are expected to oppose the Bill, saying “it dismantles one of the few remaining checks in Ireland’s abortion framework.”
Sandra Parda of the Life Institute recently warned that scrapping the 3-day period of reflection before an abortion could see “already spiralling” rates rising, with estimates of up to 2,000 additional abortions every year.
Ms Parda also highlighted data released to Carol Nolan TD from the HSE which showed that between 2019 and 2024 a total of 10,426 did not return for an abortion after the 3-day period of reflection which followed their first appointment.
The Government did not oppose the Bill at First Stage, though Ministers have not yet indicated whether they will support or block it when it comes before the Dáil next week. It is expected that a free ‘conscience vote’ will apply as it did in the recent, but more wide-ranging Social Democrat Bill which dealt with the same issue.
Sinn Féin says its Bill is an “overdue” first step, while pro-life advocates argue it represents a further liberalisation of Ireland’s abortion regime.
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