Doctors voted in closed forum to rule themselves out of service
Irish Independent
A majority of GPs say they will not provide abortion pills to women in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy if it becomes law, according to a survey of family doctors.
Nearly seven in 10 of the 497 GPs who voted in a closed doctors’ forum said they would not be involved in medical abortions.
Around 15.7pc said they would provide the service and 16.1pc were “unsure”.
The doctors are among 3,700 GPs who are registered with GPBuddy.ie, the online medical directory designed by GPs for Irish healthcare professionals.
They responded to a series of questions on the confidential forum.
Although the survey has its limitations, it indicates that, if rolled out nationwide, it would mean a substantial number of GPs would opt out of the abortion service.
However, they would be obliged to refer a woman seeking an abortion to a doctor who provides the procedure. . . [Full Text]