Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it would be “reluctant and uncomfortable” to make major changes to abortion legislation.
The comments come as changes to the existing three-day waiting period before an abortion or the administration of the necessary drugs were proposed in a government review of abortion services, reports RTE.
The review recommends that the waiting period be advisory rather than mandatory, as is currently the case.
This would mean that women would be told by a GP that they would be entitled to a three-day stay.
Mr Varadkar said as he and others campaigned for a Yes vote in the 2018 referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment, “we said that there would be safeguards”, reports RTE.
“That included things like the waiting period, it included things like the protection of conscientious objections. I have to say, I for one would be reluctant and uncomfortable to make any major legislative changes so soon after that referendum. But this is a matter that people will be able to make up their own mind on but that’s certainly my feelings about it at the moment,” he said, reports RTE.
Health Secretary Stephen Donnelly said it was “completely unacceptable” that only 11 of Ireland’s 19 maternity wards are offering abortion services.
Speaking in Grange, Co. Sligo, Mr Donnelly also confirmed that he had received the review in the past two weeks and said he had done it in detail.
Tánaiste Micheál Martin said he welcomed the review and described it as a comprehensive report.
Mr Martin also said that people within Fianna Fáil would have a free and conscious vote on the issues but he wants all hospitals to comply with the law and provide services and he hopes to do so by the third quarter of this year.
“As a basic minimum requirement, public hospitals should provide that which has been legally provided for and which the people have voted for,” Mr Martin said, reports RTE.
Sinn Féin’s health spokesman, David Cullinane, said the report should be made public and “accompanied by all of the research”.
He said: “Given leaks to the media, it is in the public interest to publish this report straight away The report seems to propose a number of operational and legislative changes. The report and evidence needs a proper examination by the Oireachtas and the health committee is the appropriate committee to do that,” reports RTE.
Union leader Ivana Bacik has welcomed the review of abortion legislation and has urged Minister Donnelly to proceed with the proposed changes as soon as possible.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Drivetime, she said there is great concern about the lack of services available across the country, forcing girls and women who live outside cities to travel long distances to access advice, information and services to get.
Socialist leader Holly Cairns described Mr Varadkar’s comments on the review group’s report as very helpful and that “the health and well-being of women must be front and centre of any recommendations”, reports RTE.
“It was a most inappropriate intervention by Mr Varadkar to publicly state that he is uncomfortable with making any major changes to abortion legislation. This is despite the fact that the review group’s report has yet to be brought to Cabinet,” she said, reports RTE.
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