Abortion in Ireland: Prospects for Rights-Centred Law Reform?

This article offers a critical account of the recent Independent Review of Ireland’s abortion legislation. I begin by setting out some of the obstacles to abortion care that are built into the current law. Next, I discuss evidence that the legislation is being interpreted more narrowly than necessary. Then, I review a culture of liberal incrementalism that inhibits creative abortion law reform in Ireland, before setting the Review’s modest proposed amendments in that context. Finally, I critique the Review’s failure to offer a robust account of abortion-seeker’s rights, or to assess the Act’s failings from the perspective of human rights law.