One in six unborn children’s lives now end in abortion in the Republic of Ireland, according to the Irish Department of Health.
Newsroom (17/07/2025, Gaudium Press ) One in six unborn children’s lives now end in abortion in the Republic of Ireland, according to the Irish Department of Health, which reported a record 10,852 abortions in 2024. The figure, the highest since the 2019 legalization following the 2018 referendum, marks a 280% increase from the 2,879 abortions recorded in 2018, before the law changed.
Eilís Mulroy, spokesperson for the Pro Life Campaign, described the numbers as “truly horrifying” in an interview with Catholic News Agency (CNA). “This is the opposite of what senior politicians promised if the public voted for repeal in 2018,” she said, noting that pro-life advocates had warned of a dramatic rise in abortions if access were expanded. Mulroy has called for a meeting with Minister for Health Jennifer Carroll MacNeill to address the alarming statistics, highlighting growing unease among some politicians who supported the 2018 “yes” vote but now view the figures as excessive.
During the 2018 referendum campaign, pro-life groups cited Britain’s abortion rate—then one in five pregnancies—as a cautionary example. Mulroy recalled media accusations of “scaremongering” at the time, with claims that such rates would never materialize in Ireland. “We’re now at one in six babies’ lives ending in abortion,” she said, pointing out that Britain’s latest figures show nearly one in three pregnancies ending in abortion. “Once you introduce abortion and change the law, abortion rates grow over time. There’s no doubt about that now.”
David Quinn, director of the Iona Institute, criticized the government’s messaging during the referendum. Then-Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, a medical doctor and former health minister, had promised abortion would be “safe, legal, and rare.” Quinn questioned whether Varadkar would consider 11,000 abortions “rare,” arguing that the government downplayed the likelihood of widespread abortions. “The focus was on hard cases, like babies who would die soon after birth,” Quinn told CNA. “There was little discussion that the vast majority of abortions would involve healthy children of healthy women, with over 98% in 2024 occurring before 12 weeks.”
Mulroy emphasized the need for policy intervention, arguing that abortion is not comparable to other healthcare issues. “This is the ending of human lives,” she said, expressing frustration at the exclusion of pro-life voices from policy discussions. She sees potential in the current government, supported by pro-life independents, to introduce incremental changes, such as ensuring women with unplanned pregnancies receive comprehensive support and information. “Right now, the government-funded helpline for unplanned pregnancies primarily directs women to abortion providers,” Mulroy said, advocating for broader options to reduce abortion rates.
Quinn lamented the lack of mainstream media attention to the issue, describing it as a “conspiracy of silence.” He noted that few outside pro-life circles are aware of the 2024 figures, and public discourse rarely challenges the government’s earlier assurances. Both Quinn and Mulroy are engaging politicians across the spectrum, seeking common ground on supporting women with unplanned pregnancies through positive alternatives.
As Ireland grapples with the implications of its 2018 decision, the record-high abortion figures have reignited debate about the law’s impact and whether the electorate fully understood its consequences.
- Raju Hasmukh with files from CNA
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