The Dáil has passed a Sinn Féin bill aimed at removing the mandatory three-day waiting period for abortion services. The legislation was approved by 86 votes to 70.
The bill will now advance to an Oireachtas committee for detailed examination. It is expected that Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill will consult with Attorney General Rossa Fanning, with the possibility of the measure becoming law by the end of the year.
Government TDs were granted a free vote on the issue, treating it as a matter of personal conscience.
Earlier, Minister for Children Norma Foley confirmed she would oppose the bill. She argued that the three-day wait had formed part of the package approved by voters in the 2018 referendum and that she would not support its removal.
Fine Gael TDs Brian Brennan (Wicklow-Wexford), Peter Roche (Galway East), and Michael Murphy (Tipperary South) also indicated they would vote against the measure. Roche cited the number of women who reconsider their decision during the waiting period as a key factor in his stance.
In contrast, Fine Gael TD Barry Ward (Dún Laoghaire) supported the bill, having backed a similar Social Democrats proposal the previous month. He maintained that individuals should be trusted to make their own decisions on the matter, and that a mandatory waiting period wrongly implies women cannot carefully consider such choices for themselves.
Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín stated there is no significant public demand to scrap the three-day wait. The Meath West TD said his party would engage with TDs from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, Sinn Féin, and independents who are dissatisfied with how the vote was managed, claiming that many who backed repeal in 2018 are unhappy with the current developments.
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