The National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) has expressed its support for the three women who are filing petitions with the UN Human Rights Committee, after being forced to travel to Britain to terminate their pregnancies following a diagnosis of fatal fetal abnormality.

Orla O'Connor, Director of the NWCI, said the current system in Ireland which sees women travel to other jurisdictions for a safe and legal termination ignores the practical and financial implications of making such a journey, and stigmatises the women forced to make such a decision.

"At such a difficult time for couples, when women should have been offered support by the Irish State, they were ignored. It is shameful that women in Ireland must go to the United Nations Human Rights Committee to assert their basic human rights."

The NWCI has pointed out that the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill will not protect mothers who are faced with such difficult and traumatic situations,

"The Bill lacks the provision to deal with terminations in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities. The NWCI is fully in support of the women taking their case."

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