There are many alternatives to abortion. Here we outline some helpful websites, schemes and benefits that are available to pregnant women in Ireland for free.
Free Pregnancy support services offer:
24 hr phone support
Female and male doctors
An understanding companion for hospital appointments
Free consultation with a doctor
Free maternity/baby equipment
Information on adoption
Support throughout the adoption process
One of the organisations who offer these services are Gianna Care.
General benefits available during pregnancy in Ireland
Free antenatal classes
Maternity leave - may also be entitled to maternity benefit
Health and safety leave from work if the job exposes the pregnant woman to certain risks
Exceptional Needs Payment
Early Childhood Care and Education scheme - from 2 years and 8 months of age free of charge for a set numbers of hours a week until primary school.
Find more info at 
A medical (or chemical) abortion is a non-surgical form of abortion in which the woman takes pills to end the life of the baby. This procedure is performed during the first trimester of pregnancy.
There is usually limited medical supervision for the woman during a medical/chemical abortion. After taking the first pills, she is sent home to complete the abortion. With this type of abortion, it is likely that she may not have a doctor to provide immediate help, should any complication occur.
Suction D&C Abortion
A suction, or aspiration, D&C abortion is a procedure in which a suction catheter is inserted into the mother’s uterus to extract the unborn baby. Tools are then used to scrape the lining of the uterus to remove any remaining parts. This procedure is performed during the first trimester, typically between five and thirteen weeks.
The abortionist dilates the woman’s cervix, then inserts a suction catheter to vacuum the child from the womb. The suction machine is 10 to 20 times as powerful as a domestic vacuum cleaner. The procedure is completed as the abortionist uses a sharp metal device called a curette to empty the remains of the child from the mother’s womb.
A dilation and evacuation abortion, D&E, is a surgical abortion procedure during which an abortionist first dilates the woman’s cervix and then uses instruments to dismember and extract the baby from the uterus. The D&E abortion procedure is usually performed between thirteen and twenty-four weeks.
After the amniotic fluid is removed, the abortionist uses a sopher clamp — a grasping instrument with rows of sharp “teeth” — to grasp and pull the baby’s arms and legs, tearing the limbs from the child’s body. The abortionist continues to grasp the remaining body parts. The most difficult part of the procedure is usually finding, grasping and crushing the baby’s head. After removing pieces of the child’s skull, the abortionist uses a curette to scrape the uterus and remove the placenta and any remaining parts of the baby.
The abortionist then collects all of the baby’s parts and reassembles them to make sure there are two arms, two legs, and that all of the pieces have been removed.
A third trimester induction abortion is performed from 25 weeks to term. At 25 weeks, a baby is almost fully-developed and could survive outside the womb. For this reason, the abortionist will usually first kill the baby in utero by a lethal injection, and induces the mother’s labour to deliver her baby stillborn.