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Over 8,150 terminations carried out last year - report

The counties with the highest number of terminations were Dublin with 3,005, Cork with 734 and Limerick with 377 (Stock image)
The counties with the highest number of terminations were Dublin with 3,005, Cork with 734 and Limerick with 377 (Stock image)

There were 8,156 medical procedures carried out under the 2018 termination of pregnancy legislation last year, according to the latest annual report from the Health Service Executive.

The HSE report says that 22 procedures were conducted due to a risk to life or health, four due to a risk to life or health in an emergency situation and 88 due to a fatal foetal abnormality.

Overall, 8,042 procedures were carried out in early pregnancy.

The months with the highest number of terminations were January, March and December and the fewest were performed in July.

The counties with the highest number of terminations were Dublin with 3,005, Cork with 734 and Limerick with 377.

The county cited with the fewest terminations recorded was Leitrim with 48.

The report shows that four applications for review were received but two applications were subsequently withdrawn.

One of the applications was found to have met the requirements for a lawful termination of pregnancy and one did not meet the requirements.

In 2021, there were 4,577 medical procedures carried out under the act with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the HSE cyber attack cited as among the reasons for the substantially reduced number that year.

In comparison, there were 6,577 medical procedures in 2020 and 6,666 in 2019.

Provisional figures released by UK health authorities show that 85 people gave Irish addresses when accessing abortion services in England and Wales during the first six months of last year.

The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) said the continued reliance on UK to provide abortion services is unacceptable.

It said that residents of Ireland are still forced to rely on England and Wales for essential healthcare.

Around 98% of the people who gave Irish addresses were more than 12 weeks pregnant and ineligible for termination services in Ireland due to legal restrictions, IFPA chief executive Niall Behan said.

He said that the vast majority of those who travelled (69%) were aged in their 30s and 40s.

Publication of the full year 2022 UK data has been deferred until January 2024.

Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has said that the significant surge in abortions carried out in Ireland last year, compared with previous years, represents a "humanitarian crisis".

He said the number of abortions are so high that they are now significantly impacting on the birth rate of the country.

Mr Tóibín said that all that has been seen from the government and some opposition parties on this issue in recent times is an ideological battle to increase access to abortion, and ultimately increase the number of abortions taking place across the country.