Female members of the All Party Oireachtas Life and Dignity Group have called on the Government to establish a dedicated taskforce to tackle what they describe as an “alarming increase” in coercive abortion cases in recent times.
The call follows a number of recent court cases in which men were jailed for violent attacks on their partners, with courts hearing that forcing women to take abortion pills formed a core element of the abuse. The lawmakers described this pattern as “deeply troubling” and said “the Government cannot continue to ignore the warning signs.”
The statement calling for the special taskforce was issued by Independent TD Carol Nolan, Independent Senator Sharon Keogan and Senator Sarah O’Reilly of Aontú. It follows the recent sentencing in Letterkenny Circuit Court of a man in his 20s to nine years in prison for coercing a woman to ingest abortion pills against her will, before locking her in a room and threatening violence if she did not comply.
Meath-based Independent Senator, Sharon Keogan, joined us on The Agenda this morning to talk to us some more about this