Leitrim’s 2024 abortion figures reflect a changing Ireland amid record highs

The number of women who had abortions in Ireland last year rose to 10,852, with 49 of those terminations carried out in Leitrim.

Of the total nationwide, 108 terminations were due to a diagnosed fatal foetal abnormality, while a further 24 were performed due to a risk to the life or health of the mother. 

These figures, released by the Department of Health, represent the highest annual increase in abortions since the repeal of the Eighth Amendment on May 25, 2018.

The Sligo-Leitrim constituency voted in favour of repealing the amendment on that day, an emotionally charged decision for many, regardless of where they stood on the issue. 

For some, it was a moment of progress in healthcare; for others, a deeply painful shift in national values. That sense of personal investment remains today.

Bernie Linnane, a founding member of Leitrim for Choice, now part of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, sees the Leitrim figure as a sign of improved healthcare access for Irish women.

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“To me, the 49 terminations carried out in Leitrim shows a greater access to healthcare, where Irish women can access services they need instead of travelling to England, which was so often the case, and sometimes due to lack of services, still is,” Ms Linnane said.

“We know that hundreds of people still have to leave this country for abortion care because they fall outside the strict parameters of our abortion legislation,” she added. 

“While this continues, and while people are still forced to undergo a medically unnecessary three-day waiting period, there are still barriers to care.”

Ms Linnane believes reproductive healthcare should include access to free contraception for all genders and age groups, alongside comprehensive sex education in schools.

However, the rising numbers are a source of concern for others, including Sinéad Tracey, a longstanding member of the pro-life movement in the county.

“Whether one agrees with abortion or not, I don't think that many people would accept that 49 abortion procedures in Leitrim and 10,852 abortions nationally in 2024 is a 'good' outcome from Repeal of the Eighth,” Ms Tracey said.

“There are real-life and heart-breaking stories and decisions behind these statistics, and there are unquantifiable long-term effects for mothers, fathers and families,” she added.

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Ms Tracey also expressed concern that the current scale of abortion access was not what many voters envisioned when voting in the 2018 referendum.

“Many believed the government rhetoric prior to the referendum: that abortion, if legalised, would be 'rare'. This has not been the case,” she said.

Both Ms Linnane and Ms Tracey acknowledge that broader societal factors, particularly the cost-of-living crisis, play a role in decisions around pregnancy and abortion.

“Poverty and the cost of living affect all decisions in this country. True reproductive justice happens when people are able to raise the children they choose to have without worrying about how to feed and clothe them,” Ms Linnane said.

Ms Tracey echoed that sentiment, saying, “I most certainly believe that the increase in abortion numbers reflects a failure of support systems for women in crisis pregnancies.

“I also think that the cost-of-living crisis is hammering people and is contributing to heart-breaking decisions for some,” she added.

She criticised the allocation of public funding for abortion services, saying, “Our taxes pay €450 to GPs for each procedure, but there is no such funding provided for voluntary organisations such as Gianna Care and Every Life Counts.”

She also raised concerns about the lack of demographic data related to abortion in Ireland. “How can we possibly know if women having abortions are being subjected to coercion; if they are victims of domestic abuse, rape, trafficking, incest; if they are having repeat abortions; if they are minors; if certain ethnic or socio-economic groups are disproportionately represented in the abortion statistics? We simply can't, unless statistics are gathered and analysed,” she said.

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Since 66 percent of voters supported the repeal of the Eighth Amendment in 2018, Ireland has made its position clear, marking a significant shift in how reproductive healthcare is approached in a country once shaped by deeply conservative values.

Still, Ms Tracey believes there is a need to hear more from women and families who may have had difficult experiences with abortion. 

“There’s a need to look at and share the human stories behind those having abortions, the long-term impact on both women and men, and to hear the other side of the story, which is largely neglected, and indeed ignored,” she said.

As for the 49 women in Leitrim who accessed abortion services last year, each case represents a deeply personal decision, not fully understood by those outside the situation.

“The bottom line is, though, that the 2024 number represents people who received the abortion care they needed. I don't see why that is a matter for concern,” Ms Linnane said.