Irish parliament votes to remove three-day abortion wait

Ireland’s parliament has voted to remove a mandatory three-day wait for abortion during early pregnancy after campaigners said the rule was an unnecessary restriction. The Dáil passed the bill on Wednesday night, clearing a path for the legislation to go to a parliamentary committee and become law later this, or next, year. Supporters said it was one of the most significant changes to women’s healthcare since voters ended a constitutional ban on abortion in a 2018 referendum. Opponents said it overturned a safeguard endorsed in the referendum. Mary Lou McDonald, the leader of Sinn Féin, which sponsored the bill, said: “Women, healthcare providers and campaigners have long called for this unnecessary barrier to be removed.” Under the current rule there is a compulsory three-day waiting period between when a woman can seek an abortion up to 12 weeks and obtain the necessary medication. It was inserted into draft legislation before the 2018 referendum to clinch support from voters who were unsure about legalising abortion. The bill passed with 86 deputies in favour and 70 against. The ruling centrist coalition of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael gave its Dáil deputies a free vote as a matter of conscience. Most deputies from both parties voted against but a handful of cabinet ministers, including the taoiseach, Micheál Martin, and the tánaiste, Simon Harris, joined other party colleagues in backing the Sinn Féin proposal, which was supported by other leftwing opposition parties. …