Ireland's parliament has voted to remove the mandatory three-day waiting period for early pregnancy abortion, a rule that campaigners described as an unnecessary restriction. The Dáil passed the bill on Wednesday night, paving the way for the legislation to proceed to a parliamentary committee and become law later this year or next.
Significant Change in Women's Healthcare
Supporters hailed the move as one of the most significant changes to women's healthcare since voters overturned the constitutional ban on abortion in a 2018 referendum. Opponents argued that it removed a safeguard approved in that referendum.
Mary Lou McDonald, leader of Sinn Féin, which sponsored the bill, stated: "Women, healthcare providers and campaigners have long called for this unnecessary barrier to be removed."
Under the current rule, women seeking an abortion up to 12 weeks face a compulsory three-day wait between requesting the procedure and receiving medication. This requirement was included in the draft legislation before the 2018 referendum to gain support from voters uncertain about legalizing abortion.
Parliamentary Vote and Party Positions
The bill passed with 86 deputies in favor and 70 against. The ruling centrist coalition of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael allowed 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 Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris, joined other party colleagues in backing the Sinn Féin proposal, which was also supported by other left-wing opposition parties.
Barry Ward, a Fine Gael deputy who supported the bill, said: "You don’t have to think abortion is a good or desirable thing to believe that it is a matter for each individual to make the decision if it is the right thing for them. We have to presume that women will think long and carefully about such an important decision and the presence of a mandatory three-day waiting period assumes the opposite."
Recommendations and Opposition
A 2022 review of the legislation by barrister Marie O'Shea recommended removing the three-day rule and relaxing other restrictions. However, supporters of the three-day wait argued it was endorsed in the referendum and gave women time to reflect on a significant decision. They cited official figures showing that between 2019 and 2024, approximately 10,400 women did not return to a GP for a second abortion consultation after the waiting period. The figures include women who had a miscarriage or a hospital appointment.
Robert Troy, a Fianna Fáil junior minister, said some voters had backed abortion legalization based on certain "protections and safeguards," including the three-day wait. "It doesn’t do politics any justice to row back a short time later and try and change things."
Peadar Tóibín, leader of the Aontú party, stated there was no public appetite to remove the waiting period. "Many people who voted for repeal are angry."
This article was amended on 18 June 2026 to clarify that the 10,400 women who did not return to a GP for a second abortion consultation after the three-day waiting period included women who had a miscarriage or a hospital appointment.
