Abortions on the rise in Ireland, even as doctors refuse participation

The majority of doctors in Ireland still refuse to commit chemical abortions, seven years after legalization — yet the number of abortions has nearly doubled since 2019.

Key Takeaways:

• The Republic of Ireland legalized abortion in 2018 with the law taking effect in 2019, and there were 6,666 abortions committed that first year.

• Since then, there have been a total of 46,861 abortions committed.

• Despite this, only 1 in 10 doctors are willing to commit chemical abortions.

The Details:

The Journal reported that, between 2019 and 2025, over 46,000 abortions were committed in Ireland — an increase of more than 600% compared to 2019. Currently, abortion is legal in the country through 12 weeks of pregnancy, though exemptions exist in cases where a mother's life is at risk, if she could be at risk of "serious harm," or if the baby has a fatal abnormality.

According to the Irish Medical Times, most abortions have been committed within those first 12 weeks. 2024 saw the highest numbers of abortions committed, at 10,852. 584 pregnancies were committed due to suspected fatal abnormalities, and 30 abortions due to the risk posed to health or life.

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HSE National Women and Infants Health Programme Dr. Aoife Mullally said abortion is an "essential element" of health care, claiming, "In a global climate where reproductive rights are increasingly under pressure, safeguarding and sustaining these important services must remain a priority to ensure that people can continue to access the care that they need and are legally entitled to.”

Still, the majority of doctors in Ireland refuse to commit abortions. While the number has increased since 2019, just 1 in 10 have signed up to "provide medical abortion." Out of an estimated 4,600 GPs, just 480 have been contracted to commit abortions.

According to the "Termination of Pregnancy services in Ireland report 2019-2025," all 19 maternity units across the country commit chemical abortions. Only eight, however, commit surgical abortions, and just three commit manual vacuum aspirations. The sites that do not commit surgical abortions will do so in the case of something considered an emergency.

The Big Picture:

As abortions have skyrocketed in Ireland, birth rates have plummeted.

The fertility rate has fallen to 1.5 children per woman, far below the replacement level of 2.1 needed, with births dropping sharply, from 68,930 in 2013 to 54,678 in 2023. There were just 54,125 births in 2025, and in just 10 years, Ireland has lost nearly 18% of its annual births.

All the while, legislators are looking to continue expanding abortion. Currently, the country is set to eliminate the three-day waiting period for abortion, which carries the possibility of increasing the risk of coercion for women.

Without a waiting period, women could be more susceptible to pressure or coercion from partners or family members to abort their children.

The Bottom Line:

Ireland, a formerly pro-life country, seemingly has taken large and unfortunate strides toward embracing the culture of death.