Publication
Fifth Annual Report on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013
From Department of Health
Published on
Last updated on
The fifth annual report on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013 has been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas as required under section 20 of the Act. The report covers the period from 1st January 2018 until 31st December 2018.
The report shows that thirty-two (32) medical procedures were carried out under the Act in 2018. Eighteen (18) procedures were arising from a risk of physical illness under section 7, thirteen (13) from emergencies arising from physical illness under section 8 and one (1) arising from a risk from suicide under section 9 of the Act.
The information published on these procedures is restricted in order to limit the risk of identification in what is a private, confidential matter between women and their doctors.
The HSE has also submitted a report as required under section 15 of the Act on Reviews carried out in 2018. This report has also been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.
The HSE report shows that one (1) application for review was made to the Executive in 2017. It states that the review was carried out under section 9 of the Act. The Review Committee found that the application met the criteria for termination of pregnancy under the Act.
The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 included transitional provisions to cover situations where a review was ongoing at the time the 2018 Act came into effect. However, no such reviews were carried out during this phase, and there is therefore no need for any further report on reviews to be submitted under the 2013 Act.
This is the final annual report which will be published under the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013, which was repealed under section 5 of the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018.
Reporting on notifications received and reviews held under the terms of the new Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 is due to commence in 2020, with the first annual reports due to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas on or before 30 June 2020. Both reports will be published as soon as possible thereafter.
