‘The abortion debate is not over in Ireland’ as crowds March for Life in Dublin

Thousands of people called on Ireland to ‘change course’ on abortion at the March for Life in Dublin this Bank Holiday.

Independent TD Ken O’Flynn told the crowds marching from St Stephen’s Green to Molesworth Street on Monday that the debate on abortion “is not over and we will not be silenced”.

Currently, abortion is available on demand in Ireland up to twelve weeks, with a three-day reflection period. In 2024, there were 10,850 abortions, the highest on record.

Change course

The march organiser, Pro Life Campaign Ireland, wrote: “Several thousand people marched through Dublin today, and the energy, warmth, and hope in that crowd was something special. Our speakers gave powerful, honest addresses.

“The facts they shared are ones the Government cannot keep ignoring. Since 2018, abortions in Ireland have risen from fewer than 3,000 a year to close to 11,000. Today, 1 in 6 babies’ lives ends in abortion in this country. That is not what people were promised.”

O’Flynn, TD for Cork North-Central, said that instead of practical support being given to pregnant women in crisis, there is a push to remove safeguards and expand access to abortion. He told the crowds that we “need to change the course that we’re on”.

Extreme proposals

Last month, the leader of the Social Democrats introduced an “extreme” proposal to further liberalise Ireland’s abortion law by abolishing the mandatory three-day reflection period.

Deputy Holly Cairns’s Reproductive Rights (Amendment) Bill 2026 would also allow all babies deemed to have a “fatal condition” to be aborted. Presently, it must be certain that they would die within 28 days of birth.

The proposals, which will be debated at Second Stage during Private Members’ Time, also decriminalise doctors if they “intentionally end the life of a foetus otherwise than in accordance” with the abortion law.

In addition, medics’ right to “conscientious objection” would be qualified by a “legal duty to provide prompt and appropriate medical assistance to any person in a medical emergency”.