Pro-choice activists announce plan to distribute abortion pills across Ireland

A pro-choice organization, which advocates for the repeal of a law banning abortions in Ireland, has expressed plans to distribute abortion pills to cities across the region.

The Reproductive Rights against Oppression, Sexism and Austerity (ROSA) is set to launch its "Bus 4 Repeal" tour in Dublin on March 6, and it will be traveling to several cities and universities across Ireland, The Journal reported.

The group stated that the purpose of the tour is "both to provide direct assistance to those in need of safe abortion pills and to campaign for the repeal of the Eighth Amendment to legalise abortion in Ireland."

The bus would put women in touch with Women on Web, a doctor-run group from the Netherlands that claims to be able to provide abortion pills, which are illegal in Ireland.

"We won't just be giving information, we will be directly assisting women," said ROSA spokesperson Rita Harrold, according to Evening Echo.

"We are not just going to give the pills there and then on the day, they'll be given to the women the next day because we wouldn't want any woman who needs an abortion, or just information, to be targeted by the police," she added.

Harrold claimed that about three women a day order pills from Women on Web, and she contends that the Eighth Amendment, which gives equal status to the unborn and the mother, is not preventing women in Ireland from acquiring abortions.

She noted that ROSA is not made up of medical professionals, so the distribution of pills would be left to Women on Web. She has not provided details on how the pills would be handed out, but she confirmed that they would be delivered shortly after the consultation on the bus.

Pro Life Campaign spokesperson Cora Sherlock described the plan as a "cheap stunt" that shows "disregard for health and safety."

In an article for Life News, Sherlock noted that Women on Web is affiliated with Women on Waves, a group which sailed an "abortion boat" into Ireland in 2002. Women on Waves caught media attention when it announced its intention to bring pregnant women aboard in the high seas to perform abortions.

According to Sherlock, ROSA and Women on Web teamed up last May to fly a drone into Northern Ireland with the intention of dropping abortion pills.

The Citizens' Assembly, which is made up of a chairperson and 99 citizens, is expected to deliver a report in the next few months on whether Northern Ireland should have a referendum to repeal the Eight Amendment. The assembly has received over 13,000 submissions on the issue of abortions between October and December 2016.