A woman who fell pregnant as a result of a sexual assault was "actively obstructed" from getting an abortion by a GP she visited three times, an Oireachtas Committee has heard.
Barrister Marie O’Shea, whose review of abortion legislation was published in April, told the Health Committee that she was "disappointed" by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Tánaiste Micheál Martin’s reactions to her report.
She appeared in front of TDs and Senators on Wednesday morning to discuss the report. Dr Catherine Conlon, Associate Professor of Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin, also briefed TDs and Senators.
READ MORE - Almost 100 children called crisis pregnancy helpline that provides abortion information last year
Ms O’Shea told Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan that there was no data available to say how many GPs were providing abortions in Ireland.
She explained that while it is known how many contracts have been issued for GP practices to conduct the service, it is unclear if this relates to one or more doctors.
Some 40 per cent of doctors offering abortions have not registered with the HSE MyOptions service, which offers advice or tells people how they can obtain care.
Ms Hourigan said that not registering with the service means that women cannot find out who is offering abortion services.
She also said that she was "struck" by accounts in the report about non-participating GPs obstructing care.
Dr Conlon said that many women who did not know about the MyOptions programme often had to contact many GPs in order to obtain an abortion.
She explained: "We had one woman, a migrant woman, living in the west of Ireland who attended seven GPs before she was referred to MyOptions.
"One [woman] was actively obstructed by a GP she had returned to three times.
"The woman who had returned three times had reported a sexual assault had been the reason for the pregnancy, so it was particularly difficult for her.
"She did eventually make her way to a women's health clinic who did also refer to SATU [Sexual Assault Treatment Units] and they did speak with her about reporting the [situation].
"She didn't have the capacity to do that. It has real consequences."
Ms O’Shea said that doctors who obstruct care can "proceed with impunity" and while it does not need to be a criminal offence, doctors should have a "statutory duty" to refer patients elsewhere.
"The Act should be balanced that if you set out to mislead somebody, it is a form of coercive control," she added.
Ms O’Shea referenced the Taoiseach and Tánaiste’s public comments indicating that changing legislation would be a "breach of promise with the electorate" so soon after the referendum. The Taoiseach said that he would be "reluctant” to change things, while Mr Martin said that he was "mindful of what we said to the people some years ago during the referendum".
She said that she was "disappointed" with their remarks.
She added: "Well, based on the comments of the Tánaiste and the Taoiseach and their perceived reluctance as I found it to interfere with the legislation or amend the legislation I think yeah that a bit of courage wouldn't go amiss."
One of the most contentious parts of the review was the recommendation that the three-day wait period should be removed.
Responding to questions from Sinn Féin’s David Cullinane, Ms O’Shea said that there was "no legal or medical reason" for this.
The witnesses were also questioned by Fine Gael Senator Sean Kyne about the number of people who did not attend a second GP appointment after the "reflection period".
The report mentioned a 2019 study which showed that of 475 women who presented at the first consultation, 11 (2 per cent) did not return for the second visit.
However, Mr Kyne referenced other reports that said 3,950 did not attend the second appointment.
Ms O’Shea said that if a person goes over a certain gestation period, they have to be referred to a hospital. This could result in a GP claiming payment for just one visit.
She added: "We don't have those figures. I think we should have those figures and I think we should, where a person doesn't re-present to a GP, try to have some understanding of why that is."
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