The threat of criminal sanctions hangs over medical practitioners who provide abortion services in Ireland, politicians have been told.
Alison Spillane, a senior policy and research officer at the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), described to the Oireachtas Health Committee how the fear of prosecution "sits in the consultation room" between patient and doctor.
Ireland's abortion law makes anyone who aids or abets abortion outside the specific terms of the Act liable for criminal prosecution.
