Early abortion care during the COVID-19 public health emergency in Ireland: Implications for law, policy, and service delivery.

Spillane, Alison; Taylor, Maeve; Henchion, Caitriona; Venables, Róisín; Conlon, Catherine

Early abortion care became available in Ireland in January 2019. Service delivery involves two consultations with a medical practitioner, separated by a mandatory 3-day waiting period. The Model of Care for termination of pregnancy initially required in-person visits. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated significant reductions in in-person interactions in healthcare. A revised Model of Care for termination of pregnancy, issued for the duration of the pandemic, permits delivery of early abortion care by remote consultation. Significantly, this was introduced without amending the 2018 abortion law. The pandemic precipitated a rapid development in the delivery of abortion care that was not anticipated at the time of abortion law reform only 18 months earlier. We outline the work undertaken to maintain access to abortion care in early pregnancy through the lens of a single community-level provider and explore what these developments may mean for abortion law, policy, and service delivery.