Marie Stopes International has today confirmed that they will begin to turn away Irish women seeking an abortion.
The clinic is blaming the demand for their services as a reason for the move. They will begin to prioritise British patients, referred by the NHS, over Irish women who travel to the UK for an abortion. Women who have already booked appointments won’t be affected.
They have said that they will assist women from Ireland and will refer them to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS). However, a spokeswoman for the BPAS has said that they too are under strain in dealing with demand saying:
“We’re looking at our capacity across the country. Irish women may have to go to slightly different locations to access our services.”
A spokesperson for the Maria Stopes Clinic told The Times:
“January and February are always the busiest times of year and we are currently managing high demand by referring some women to other providers to ensure they can be seen as soon as possible.
Our priority is ensuring women obtain the earliest possible appointment and we are working with organisations in Ireland to ensure provision is there for women who go via their networks.
We are managing demand by focusing on NHS clients but our helpline is very clear to everyone that calls that if they have difficulty finding another provider they should call us back.”
They did confirm that the ban will be in place temporarily, rather than permanently.
