Bishop supports call for talks on declining birth rate

Bishop supports call for national discussion on declining birth rate

Updated / Saturday, 14 Nov 2026 16:03

The Bishop of Achonry and Elphin has supported the call for a national discussion on declining birth rate, abortion figures and the long-term implications for families, healthcare services and the sustainability of the welfare state by the group Healthcare Professionals for Life.

Bishop Kevin Doran, who is chairman of the Catholic Bishops' Council for Life, challenged what he described as attempts to "do away" with the three-day waiting period for women seeking abortions in Ireland.

Under Irish law, the three-day waiting period is a mandatory delay between the initial doctor's consultation and the beginning of an early-pregnancy termination.

Bishop Doran said the three-day wait was being presented as "a threat to women’s health and an imposition on their freedom".

However, he said that since the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act became law in 2018, more than 10,000 women who had registered with a doctor for an abortion, did not return for a second appointment after the three-day period had elapsed.

"A great myth" had been perpetrated that "abortion is a type of healthcare", he said.

Last week, the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) backed "renewed criticism" of Ireland’s abortion law at the fourth cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the UN Human Rights council.

Canada, Denmark, France, Iceland, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland called on Ireland to take action to strengthen access to abortion care.

Canada and Sweden called for the removal of the mandatory thee-day waiting period.

Healthcare Professionals for Life has said that figures show approximately 10,600 abortions were notified in Ireland last year, while 54,125 live births were registered.

The figures, it said, formed part of a broader picture of demographic change and raised important questions about the experiences of women, the supports available during pregnancy, and the factors influencing family formation and reproductive decisions.

An Independent Review of the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act by Marie O'Shea BL in 2023 found that the mandatory three-day delay, combined with appointment wait times, pushed some women past the 12-week legal limit for early termination, resulting in them travelling abroad for terminations.

A Sinn Féin Private Members bill which seeks to remove the three-day waiting period is currently being scrutinised at committee stage in the Oireachtas.