Report: Man assaults pregnant bus passenger in Dublin, screaming at her to abort

A man riding on a bus in Dublin is reported to have repeatedly punched a pregnant fellow passenger in the face and stomach while screaming at her to have an abortion.

Key Takeaways:

• A pregnant woman was reportedly riding a bus when a man approached her, screaming, telling her to have an abortion.

• He then began punching her in the face and stomach.

• The man was arrested but has been granted bail.

• Abortion is legal in Ireland, and the number of abortions committed have been skyrocketing.

The Details:

The Irish Independent reported that 45-year-old Thomas Nolan approached a woman as she was riding in the back of a public bus in Dublin, and began screaming at her to have an abortion. He then began punching her in the face and stomach, before other passengers intervened and restrained him.

The events leading up to the incident are unclear. Though the two were allegedly strangers, Nolan said he “had to do it as she had slandered him.” And while police said the attack was unprovoked, Nolan claims there was “more of a lead in” than what was being reported. The woman was taken to the hospital, but it is currently not known if her baby survived.

During his appearance in Dublin District Court, Judge Paula Murphy allowed him to go free on bail, though he was banned from using public transportation. He is due to appear in Cloverhill District Court next week.

Background:

Abortion was legalized in the Republic of Ireland in 2018, and the number of abortions committed since then have skyrocketed. In 2024, there were 10,852 abortions committed, making a 62.8% increase from the 6,666 abortions committed in 2019, the first year abortions were fully legal.

And meanwhile, abortionists are receiving tens of thousands of dollars in taxpayer funding to commit abortions. More disturbingly, there are reports of infants being born alive after attempted abortions.

With abortion being legal, it has become part of the cultural fabric in Ireland — and as such, can become expected for women under some circumstances. While for now, it's believed Nolan didn't know the woman he attacked, police did say the two live within close proximity to each other.

In another incident in Dublin, a woman was assaulted by her partner, who threatened to drag her by her hair to an abortion facility. And studies have found that many women feel pressured to have abortions rather than choosing it on their own.

On top of that, violence against pregnant women is extremely common — so much so, that it is a leading cause of death for pregnant women. Pregnancy can therefore be a dangerous time for women.

The Bottom Line:

“Many people are surprised when they hear that violence is the leading cause of death in pregnancy,” said Hooman Azad, MD, MPH, lead author of a study that found murder is the number one cause of maternal death in the United States.

“Right now, the definition of maternal mortality does not include death by homicide. I’m not sure this is correct — being pregnant or postpartum significantly increases the risk of death by homicide, and more pregnant women die of violence than any individual medical cause. Part of the reason violence is not recognized as the leading cause of death during pregnancy is because we don’t include homicide and suicide in the definition of maternal mortality.”