St Luke’s General Hospital for Carlow Kilkenny is one of five additional facilities now offering abortion
services.
The announcement was made by the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly, with the service beginning today.
The Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has announced the provision of termination of pregnancy services in five additional maternity hospital sites.
They are St Luke’s Hospital for Carlow Kilkenny, Portiuncula, Letterkenny, Wexford General and Portlaoise.
The service began today.
It brings the total number of maternity hospitals providing early termination of pregnancy services, under 12 weeks, to seventeen.
Welcoming the news, Minister Donnelly said “This expansion is a significant step towards the provision of full termination services for women in all nineteen Maternity hospitals.”
He went on to say that he’s looking forward “further expansion of services in 2024 and the reality of safe, equitable access to this service for all women.”
Dr Aoife Mullally, the HSE Clinical Lead for Termination Services, said:
“I welcome this significant expansion of termination of pregnancy care. This will enable women to access care in their local units without the additional burden of travel. I acknowledge the leadership of the Clinical Lead Consultants in all maternity units who have worked extremely hard to develop these services and provide high-quality, compassionate care for women.
“While the majority of early pregnancy abortion care is provided in the community, a hospital-based service is essential for some women and is a valuable support for the community-based service.”
