Review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018: Public consultation

The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 (“the Act”) was signed into law by the President on 20 December 2018 and all sections were commenced on 1 January 2019.

The main purpose of the Act is to set out the law governing access to termination of pregnancy in Ireland. It permits termination to be carried out in cases where there is a risk to the life, or of serious harm to the health, of the pregnant woman; where there is a condition present which is likely to lead to the death of the foetus either before or within 28 days of birth; and without restriction up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Section 7 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 states that:

The review clause was included in the 2018 Act in order to facilitate monitoring of the operation of the legislation in practice, as well as of the delivery of services in the area.

The review is also noted in the Programme for Government: Our Shared Future.

A three-part approach is being taken to reviewing the operation of the Act, with strands focusing on service users, service providers and a public consultation.

Research to inform the service user and service provider strands will be commissioned and carried out independently.

The Department of Health facilitated a public consultation. The public consultation was open from 8 December 2021 to 1 April 2022. The purpose of the consultation was to seek the views of the public on the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.

The department would like to thank all members of the public and interested parties for their submissions.

The period for making submissions closed on Friday, 1 April 2022. Submissions received after the deadline cannot be considered and extensions cannot be provided.

Any personal information volunteered to this department is treated with the highest standards of security and confidentiality, strictly in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation 2016/67 and the Data Protection Act 2018. However, please note the following:

• Depending on the volume of submissions, the department may publish submissions and a report outlining the key themes arising from the public consultation. The department may include a full list of those who make submissions in an appendix to any report.
• as information received by the department is subject to the Freedom of Information Act 2014, such information may be considered for possible release under that Act.
• the information provided in the submissions may be shared with relevant government departments and State organisations during the review process. Any personal and identifying information will be redacted prior to sharing
• by providing a submission to the department, you are consenting to your data being processed by the department. Your data will only be used in the context of the review of the operation of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, and for no other purpose. If, at any time, you wish to withdraw your submission please contact Bioethics2Unit@health.gov.ie
• view the Department's Privacy Policy
• submissions will be retained until the review process has been concluded and the final report has been published

All submissions received will help inform the review of the operation of the Act.