St Luke’s Hospital will not be providing abortion services.
That’s according to four consultant obstetricians at the local hospital who have penned a letter to the Ireland East Hospital Group advising them that they won’t be providing terminations.
Professor Ray O’Sullivan is one of the consultants.
Explaining the reasons to KCLR News today, he says they are two-fold:
“We are having these difficulties and these difficulties centre around not only the issues of conscientious objection but also facilities.
“I mean, I think a lot of people don’t realise that we in Kilkenny don’t have a gynaecology ward, for example.
“So finding an appropriate location for women with crisis pregnancies, or who are requiring surgical terminations would be very difficult.
“That’s what we wanted to highlight to the Ireland East Hospital Group…we’re trying to kind of sort this out.”
Professor O’Sullivan continued to say that the reality for small, country hospitals like St Luke’s is that they just aren’t the ideal location for women who find themselves in these situations.
He says he and his colleagues are looking for assistance in getting the right facilities but says it’s likely to take a long, long time for that to happen.
An article in today’s Irish Examiner reports that the letter, signed by the four consultant obstetricians, was sent to GP’s in this area.
However, Professor O’Sullivan has told KCLR that the letter was sent to the IEHG and a separate letter penned by one of his colleagues was sent to GP’s.
He says he personally feels it shouldn’t have been made public so soon considering they are trying to find a way forward.
