Of these, she said, the amendments to the three-day waiting period were the least difficult.

She told the Dáil that the reduction of the number of doctors making the decision was problematic and would create an uncertainty that, she said, would be unhelpful.

She said the dual professional signatory was a fundamental principle of safety and widely practised in healthcare. The minister said she was aware of the tragic outcomes that had already occurred where core principles of safety had not been adhered to.

On fatal foetal abnormality, she said it was extremely complex and raised many ethical issues. She said she empathised with what the bill was trying to achieve, but said the 28-day clause was not chosen at random.

She said it was chosen because it was related medically to the period where an infant is most at risk and beyond that was very complicated.

The bill was largely based on the recommendations of the O'Shea review of the Health Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act.

“The Life Institute welcomes the rejection of the horrific Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill 2026, brought forward by Social Democrat’s leader, Holly Cairns. Our TDs in the Oireachtas have voted AGAINST this Bill, which sought to scrap the 3-day waiting period of reflection before a woman has an abortion, and expand the grounds for barbaric late-term abortions.” 

“The defeat of the Social Democrats’ bill to abolish the life-saving three-day wait and widen the grounds for late-term abortion was hard-fought and is a very encouraging result. Immense credit goes to the terrific pro-life Oireachtas members, and to everyone who contacted their local TDs over recent days. The massive lobbying effort over the past 72 hours played a huge part in tonight’s outcome. With the heartbreaking tragedy of 1 in 6 pregnancies now ending in abortion in Ireland, the Social Democrats pushed things too far tonight - and they got their answer.”

“We have to factor in that some politicians voted against the Social Democrats bill for purely tactical reasons, so they can progress their own pro-abortion bill at a later stage. So our work is never done. But tonight, we are thankful for an excellent outcome. We will keep striving to build a more welcoming and supportive society for women experiencing unplanned pregnancies and their unborn babies.”  

Of these, she said, the amendments to the three-day waiting period were the least difficult.

She told the Dáil that the reduction of the number of doctors making the decision was problematic and would create an uncertainty that, she said, would be unhelpful.

She said the dual professional signatory was a fundamental principle of safety and widely practised in healthcare. The minister said she was aware of the tragic outcomes that had already occurred where core principles of safety had not been adhered to.

On fatal foetal abnormality, she said it was extremely complex and raised many ethical issues. She said she empathised with what the bill was trying to achieve, but said the 28-day clause was not chosen at random.

She said it was chosen because it was related medically to the period where an infant is most at risk and beyond that was very complicated.

The bill was largely based on the recommendations of the O'Shea review of the Health Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Act.

“The Life Institute welcomes the rejection of the horrific Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill 2026, brought forward by Social Democrat’s leader, Holly Cairns. Our TDs in the Oireachtas have voted AGAINST this Bill, which sought to scrap the 3-day waiting period of reflection before a woman has an abortion, and expand the grounds for barbaric late-term abortions.” 

“The defeat of the Social Democrats’ bill to abolish the life-saving three-day wait and widen the grounds for late-term abortion was hard-fought and is a very encouraging result. Immense credit goes to the terrific pro-life Oireachtas members, and to everyone who contacted their local TDs over recent days. The massive lobbying effort over the past 72 hours played a huge part in tonight’s outcome. With the heartbreaking tragedy of 1 in 6 pregnancies now ending in abortion in Ireland, the Social Democrats pushed things too far tonight - and they got their answer.”

“We have to factor in that some politicians voted against the Social Democrats bill for purely tactical reasons, so they can progress their own pro-abortion bill at a later stage. So our work is never done. But tonight, we are thankful for an excellent outcome. We will keep striving to build a more welcoming and supportive society for women experiencing unplanned pregnancies and their unborn babies.”