Abortion and the Law

Abortion is illegal in the Republic of Ireland except where there is a real and substantial risk to the life of the mother.
This includes the risk of suicide.

It is legal for a woman to travel outside Ireland to have an abortion.

bpas can legally provide abortion care up to 24 weeks of pregnancy at our clinics in England. However there are other agencies that might be able to provide abortion care after that time, please contact us for further information.

All of the Irish organisations listed on the Crisis Pregnancy Options website (apart from CURA and Life) will discuss abortion during a counselling session with a pregnant woman, if she asks about it. What is regulated by Irish law is the provision of information on abortion services outside Ireland.

Abortion information can only be provided directly to a pregnant woman in Ireland, if requested by her as part of the counselling process. Abortion information can be given by:

  • Crisis pregnancy counselling agencies.
  • Individual counsellors giving crisis pregnancy support.
  • GPs and other doctors.

    • Please be aware the organisations CURA and Life, will not give contact details for abortion clinics in a pregnancy counselling session.

    Even though women in Northern Ireland are UK citizens and UK taxpayers they do not have the automatic right to an NHS abortion. Women in England, Scotland and Wales are entitled to a legal, safe abortion on the NHS and have been for the last 40 years. Women in Northern Ireland do not have this right. Click here to visit the fpa (Family Planning Association) website for information about the abortion law in Northern Ireland and the fpa's campaign for women's rights to abortion in Northern Ireland.