US ruling has 'zero impact' on provision of abortion rights in Ireland, says Stephen Donnelly

He said such rights are provided following a referendum and change to the Irish constitution. 

“Termination services are being expanded in Ireland, with four more hospitals providing services this year,” he added.

“We are at the same time expanding a wide range of women’s health services, including fertility, menopause, endometriosis, perinatal mental health, eating disorder supports, gynaecology services and more,” he added.

Politicians and campaign groups react to 'catastrophic' US Supreme Court ruling

Meanwhile, Irish politicians and campaign groups have expressed mixed reactions to the US supreme court's decision to and end 50 years of constitutional protection for abortion rights in the States. 

The court's ruling is expected to lead to abortion rights bans in roughly half of the states in America. The Abortion Rights Campaign (ARC) has condemned the ruling, saying that the consequences of the decision will be "catastrophic." 

"Abortion bans are racist, they are misogynistic, and fallout from this decision will be catastrophic,” said ARC spokesperson Darina Murray. 

We in Ireland know how an abortion ban creates stigma, isolation, causes long-term damage to health and even death. 

Labour leader Ivanka Bacik described the decision to overturn Roe v Wade as a "shocking step backwards" for women's rights in the US, adding that the impact of the decision will be devastating. 

She said in a week where we learned that over 200 women travelled to Britain from Ireland seeking abortion, Ms Bacik said that in an Irish context, the forthcoming abortion review must protect women’s right to choose as voted for by the Irish people.

“We know from the Irish experience that restricting access to abortion does not prevent crisis pregnancy, but rather it compounds the crisis for women; and we also know from our own experience that constitutional restrictions on access to safe legal abortion can cause serious risks to women’s lives and health,” Ms Bacik added. 

Sinn Féin TD Louise O’Reilly told the Irish Examiner: “It’s really concerning to see these consistent moves to roll back reproductive rights in the US.

This is a regressive step which restricts hard-won progress for women. 

"Here in Ireland, we still need to do much more to advance and protect reproductive rights such as including better access to abortion healthcare in rural areas and protecting women from harassment outside clinics by introducing safe access zones without delay."

Social Democrats TD for Cork South West, Holly Cairns, said the news breaking in the US is heartbreaking. 

"This decision threatens the health and lives of women across America," she said.

“It means that American women, like Irish women pre Repeal, will have to travel for essential healthcare. Poor women and migrants will bear the brunt of this cruel decision.

“It is especially notable that this decision comes a day after the Supreme Court ruled that New York’s ban on concealed guns was unconstitutional. So, according to the Supreme Court, controlling women’s bodies is constitutional but controlling access to guns is not,” she added.

“This is a dark day for women - not just in America, but across the world. It is a stark reminder that the fight for reproductive rights is never over.”

However, some conservative politicians have welcomed the decision. Independent NUI Senator Rónán Mullen, said: 

It's morning again in America.

“After the darkness of almost 50 years of federally mandated abortion, which has seen 60 million dead, it will now be possible for American states to enact laws to protect the lives of both unborn children and their mothers,” he added.

“I hope that this decision will be a wake-up call to the Irish Government and others, to remind them that authentic human rights requires that all human lives are protected, not just those of the powerful or those who can speak up for themselves,” he added.

Amnesty International has called the ruling a "grim milestone" in the history of the United States. 

“People will be forced to give birth. They’ll be forced to seek unsafe abortions. 

This is the outcome of a decades-long campaign to control the bodies of women, girls, and people who can become pregnant. 

"And it paves the way for unprecedented state legislation to criminalize abortion, as well as other bills that will aim to strip human rights from people in the United States, including the potential for bills that will affect access to birth control, gender, and marriage equality as well as other anti-discrimination laws," a spokesperson said. 

Interim Director of Human Rights at Amnesty International, Irish woman Fiona Crowley, said: "We must support and show solidarity with all those fighting for reproductive rights and justice in the USA. 

"The overturning of Roe v Wade is the culmination of a decades-long campaign to control the bodies of women, girls, and people who can become pregnant. This campaign against women's bodies and rights hasn't just been waged in the USA, but across the globe, including here in Europe. 

"Irish-born Oxford University academic Dr Jennifer Cassidy said in 2018 the people of Ireland spoke loud and clear. Repealing one of the strictest abortion bans in the world. Giving Irish women their rights. We looked to America as an example of freedom,” she said. 

With Roe v Wade overturned, the world continues to watch America become unrecognisable.

Anti-abortion campaigners in Ireland have, conversely, welcomed the ruling. 

The Pro Life Campaign said that today's decision is a "momentous development for the right to life" and for the "protection of the most vulnerable members of the human family, unborn babies."