Fact check: Will abortion be legalised up to the sixth month of pregnancy?
The Save the 8th campaign has claimed abortion will be legalised up to six months. On the issue of abortion up to six months into a pregnancy, Mr McGuirk pointed to Head 4 of the General Scheme of the proposed legislation published by the Department of Health on the regulation of the termination of pregnancy. He is referring here to the point for foetal viability (where a foetus can survive outside the womb), which is 24 weeks of pregnancy. “Such abortions can be carried out where there is a ‘risk of serious harm’ to the health, including mental health, of a woman from continuing with the pregnancy. ‘Serious harm’ is not defined anywhere in the Bill,” he said.
The Legislative Framework in Ireland
Regarding the actual laws, the legislation introduced by Minister for Health Simon Harris allows for access to terminations within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. The general scheme of the Bill outlines that it will be lawful to carry out a termination of a pregnancy where a medical practitioner certifies the pregnancy concerned has not exceeded 12 weeks. Twelve weeks of pregnancy is dated from the first day of a woman’s last menstrual period. Beyond that, it will only be lawful to carry out a termination of pregnancy when two medical practitioners certify that there is a risk to the life of, or of serious harm to the health of, the pregnant woman.
The law states that the two medical practitioners should be an obstetrician, and the other shall be an appropriate medical practitioner. Furthermore, the legislation states that termination will not be permitted if the foetus has reached viability. There is agreement from the Save the 8th and Together For Yes campaigns that viability is reached at 24 weeks into the pregnancy. Additionally, Head 5 of the Bill allows for terminations when there is an emergency risk to the life and the health of a mother.
Understanding Six-Week Abortion Bans
In contrast to the Irish debate, some regions are implementing much tighter restrictions. On September 1, a Texas law passed in May that effectively bans abortion after six weeks went into effect. The law directly violates Roe v. Wade, which guarantees the right to terminate a pregnancy up until the fetus can independently live outside the womb, usually around 23 weeks of pregnancy. A six-week ban on abortion would be much more restrictive than it sounds, acting as a de facto ban for many. For many people, six weeks is early enough that they haven’t actually realized they are pregnant.
Statistical Breakdown and Pregnancy Timing
The pregnancy clock starts by counting back to the person’s last menstrual period. A typical menstrual cycle is 28 days — four weeks — but many people have irregular periods. This means someone might not realize they are pregnant until 30 or 40 days, which is just shy of the six-week deadline. Most abortions occur in the first trimester, and don’t require surgery.
| Metric | Timeline / Percentage |
|---|---|
| Texas Early Ban Threshold | 6 weeks |
| Ireland General Access Limit | 12 weeks |
| Abortions at or before 13 weeks (US 2018) | 92 percent |
| Abortions at or before 6 weeks (US 2018) | 36 percent |
| Foetal Viability Threshold | 23-24 weeks |
Regulatory Frameworks and Additional Restrictions
States that have passed six-week bans all have other restrictions in place, which can make the deadline even harder to meet. In Missouri, which passed its six-week ban in 2019, people must wait 72 hours — three full days — between the initial visit and the actual abortion. “These laws don’t operate in isolation. They operate within a web of other restrictions,” said Melissa Murray, a reproductive law expert. Other laws regulate abortion providers by requiring that the procedure only be performed by physicians who have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital or by prohibiting insurance from covering the procedure.