Dáil votes 86-70 to scrap the three-day abortion waiting period, advancing Sinn Féin bill to committee

Vote outcome

The Dáil passed the private members' bill by 86 votes to 70 on Wednesday evening. The text amends the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act by removing the requirement that women wait three days after an initial consultation before obtaining an abortion in early pregnancy. Sinn Féin health spokesperson David Cullinane, who introduced the bill, said the change was focused and minimal.

“It does just one thing. It proposes to remove the mandatory three-day wait for access to an abortion during early pregnancy.”

Government split on a free vote

Government TDs were granted a vote of conscience, and the result revealed clear fractures. Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris backed the bill, as did Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers and Climate Minister Darragh O'Brien. Children's Minister Norma Foley voted against, arguing that the waiting period had been part of the 2018 referendum package.

“I believe when it was put to the people in 2018, that was part of what was put to the people. So I won't be voting to support the removal of the three day wait.”

Junior finance minister Robert Troy, who also voted no, cited an estimate that over 10,000 women had changed their minds during the wait and decided not to proceed. Several other Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs joined the opposition side.

Origins of the waiting period and the O'Shea review

The three-day pause was inserted into the original 2018 law as a reassurance for some legislators after the referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment. A statutory review led by barrister Marie O'Shea was published in 2023 and recommended scrapping the wait, noting that participants overwhelmingly did not find it beneficial. The report called the waiting period a recurring barrier, but no action was taken until the current Dáil term.

Wider political dynamics

Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said the waiting period should never have existed and urged TDs to "trust women". Labour leader Ivana Bacik said the bill did not go far enough, describing the wait as a "residual, insulting, patriarchal mistrust of women". The Social Democrats had earlier proposed a broader reform, but Sinn Féin did not support it. Passing an opposition bill on a sensitive social issue is rare and offers Sinn Féin a chance to answer critics on the left.

Next steps

The legislation now goes to the Oireachtas Health Committee for detailed examination. Health Minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill is expected to consult Attorney General Rossa Fanning on amendments. If the committee stage and subsequent drafting proceed smoothly, the bill could be enacted before the end of 2026.