Phone line to offer advice on abortion
IRELAND'S first service offering abortion counselling over the phone was launched yesterday.
The 24-hour service, which is based at the Marie Stopes International (MSI) offices in England, will offer Irish women abortion consultation and counselling.
It also announced it was cutting the price of abortions for Irish women travelling across the Irish Sea for the procedure.
The service said it was bringing in the reduced fees to "alleviate hardship faced by many Irish women who have to travel overseas for the service".
A spokeswoman said the new telephone service "offers Irish women an alternative to 'face to face' appointments and allows them to fully discuss their circumstances or seek full counselling before they travel to England to access abortion services. While they still have to travel to one of MSI's nine centres in England for the scan, blood test and the procedure itself, the telephone service offers women immediate peace of mind and can reduce the time they need to spend away from their family and commitments in Ireland.
"The telephone counselling facility is offered to all women considering an abortion as well as those who have already undergone the procedure at an MSI centre.
The telephone service "offers women the opportunity to discuss their feelings with a specially trained counsellor within a familiar environment such as their home", she added.
The spokeswoman said the service was "impartial" and would reduce travelling costs for Irish women seeking advice about abortions.
- Eilish O'Regan
