20/01/2019
however in tragic circumstances such as this the legislation prevents it...so dreadful this couple had to go through this experience
"Cork nurse who underwent an abortion in London on December 19 after Irish doctors diagnosed life-threatening foetal abnormalities believes she still would not have qualified for a termination under Ireland’s legalised services, which began on January 1.
Ruth O’Sullivan, a mother of three from Ballydehob, said the potential services available must be made “crystal clear” to Irish women from the moment their pregnancies are confirmed.
She thought she would be the last Irish woman who would have to go abroad to end a wanted pregnancy, and was distraught at the news that a Dublin woman is planning to travel overseas this week after receiving a diagnosis of severe foetal anomaly.
On Thursday, Ruth Coppinger and Brid Smith, Solidarity-People Before Profit TDs, claimed in the Dail that the woman had been refused an abortion by the Coombe hospital in Dublin after receiving a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality. The hospital says it did not diagnose the abnormality as fatal.
O’Sullivan and her husband Seán returned to London last Wednesday for the cremation of the foetal remains of the child they had decided to name Sadhbh. “It was just her coffin and us,” she said. “Then we picked her ashes up on Thursday and flew back home.”
O’Sullivan said an anomaly scan at Cork University Maternity Hospital on December 4, when she was 21 weeks pregnant, showed developmental problems with the foetal heart, which was not developing on the left side.
She was referred to the Coombe hospital where she was given a diagnosis of trisomy 13. Also known as Patau syndrome, this is a chromosomal disorder which can cause multiple organ defects. O’Sullivan said it was exacerbated in her case because it was a “mosaic” form of the condition, making it difficult to identify all the affected organs.
Many infants with trisomy 13 die within their first days or weeks of life. Only 5% to 10% of children with the condition live past their first year. Under the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act, abortion is provided only when foetal anomalies are classified as fatal, meaning the child will not survive more than 28 days after birth.
“Two doctors confirmed the heart was in a deplorable state and the chromosomal prognosis, if she were born alive, was that her quality of life would be appalling,” said O’Sullivan. “The doctors were lovely but this was every mother’s worst nightmare. My husband and I struggled to see what quality of life our baby would have.”
The O’Sullivans arrived in London on December 17, almost 24 weeks into the pregnancy, and were told the prognosis was extremely poor. “Before we signed the consent form, the doctor did the scan and said even if Sadhbh made it to term, it would be inhumane to let her suffer. An obstetrician came to me and said, ‘I want you to know that we are going to give you all the support here that you need. It is disgusting that your country will send you here under these circumstances.’”
Ruth was given a pessary to induce the termination. The O’Sullivans waited for two days in a hotel room before returning to the hospital for their daughter’s stillbirth delivery at 2.20pm on December 19.
“The next time I got to see my little girl was last Wednesday for her cremation,” she said. “I’m grieving and I’m finding it very difficult to talk about this. It’s very hard, but I feel compelled to talk about it.
“I’m coming forward with my story because it has to be put in front of people’s faces. People in our situation should be allowed to grieve; not have to be running around booking flights and hotels and borrowing money from family and going to the credit union for the rest of it.
“I was nearly 24 weeks [pregnant], I was showing, we had named our baby. I believe the current situation is not good enough. It needs to be addressed as to what are the exact circumstances in which a woman can have a termination in Ireland, and why, and who makes the decision. We deserve that clarity.”
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/cork-couple-forced-to-go-to-london-for-termination-plead-for-clarity-for-other-pregnant-women-255z25tzv
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Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, Section 11 (condition likely to lead to death of foetus either before or within 28 days of birth)
Seems to have appeared in legislation without any medical or scientific standing. It's not recognized as an international standard model of care when treating cases of fatal foetal anomalies.
It is our understanding that this was never mentioned in the Citizens Assembly, nor the Joint Oireachtas Committee.
We are eager to understand the reasoning for this addition to legislation at the very late stages of drafting and finalizing legislation.
We are eager to understand how Section 11 is measured.
We are eager to understand under what circumstances our doctors are within confines of the law to facilitate us in making the best medical decisions for ourselves and our families.
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TFMR Ireland
Doctors For Choice Ireland
Lawyers for Choice - Ireland
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We would like Minister Harris to clarify this
Email: simon.harris@oireachtas.ie
Phone: 01 6183805 (Dáil)
Address: Dáil Office
Dáil Eireann
Leinster House
Kildare Street
Dublin 2
D02 A272
OR
Tel: 01 635 4000
Email: ministersoffice@health.gov.ie
Address: Department of Health
Block 1, Miesian Plaza,
50 – 58 Lower Baggot Street,
Dublin,
D02 XW14
