Fifth Annual Report on Notifications in accordance with the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018

The fifth Annual Report on the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 has been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas as required under Section 20 of the Act. The report covers the period from 1 January 2023 until 31 December 2023.

In introducing the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018, the government acted on the instruction of the Irish people. It was - and is - a priority for the government to have a medically delivered, safe and regulated service for the termination of pregnancy in place.

Material published on information contained in notifications is restricted to limit the risk of identification in what is a private, confidential matter between patients and their doctors.

The Annual Report shows that, in total, 10,033 medical procedures were carried out under the Act in 2023.

In 2023, 21 procedures were carried out due to a risk to life or health under the grounds set out in Section 9 of the Act; seven due to a risk to life or health in an emergency situation under Section 10; 129 due to a fatal fetal anomaly under Section 11; and 9,876 in early pregnancy under the grounds set out in Section 12 of the Act.

Section 20 of the 2018 Act requires the date on which the termination of pregnancy was carried out to be notified to the Minister of Health. The data for 2023 indicate that the months with the highest number of terminations carried out were May (902 notifications), January (878) and March (874). The month with fewest notifications was February (683).

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has also submitted a report, as required under Section 18 of the Act, on Reviews carried out in 2023. This report has also been laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas. The HSE report shows that two applications for review were received and carried out by the Executive in 2023. Both of the applications were found to have met the requirements for a lawful termination of pregnancy.