The number of abortions jumped by 25% in just the last year.
The Leader of Aontú and Meath West TD Peadar Toibín is accusing the Government of deliberately avoiding the issues that force women to have abortions.
Yesterday it emerged that 8,500 terminations took place in the country last year.
Deputy Peadar Toibín says a growing number of abortions are due to personal, financial and socio-economic reasons which could be dealt with if the Government would commit more resources.
He says the Department of Health was asked to address these issues but claims it has deliberately refused to do so.
“These figures are devasting. Over 8,500 lives were ended by the states abortion laws last year. This is a jump in the numbers losing their lives of 25% in just one year. In the 4 years that the law has been in place nearly 28,500 babies have been aborted. This is equivalent to the population of Kilkenny City. It’s the equivalent of 1,228 class rooms of children. It’s the equivalent of 76 primary schools of children who are no longer alive as a result of this governments legislation. Its truly heart breaking”.
“Despite Ireland’s abortion rate radically increasing last year, the Minister for Health stated today that the Abortion Review’s objective is to increase access to abortion even more in Ireland. 85% of abortions in Ireland are due to socio economic reasons. For many mothers these are in reality austerity abortions. Should the objective of the review not include providing economic supports to mothers to actually ensure that they have a choice?
