This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Anti-abortion activists have struck back against Ireland’s introduction of abortion services by picketing a clinic and by launching potentially misleading websites that mimic the state’s support service for unplanned pregnancies.

A group holding placards protested outside a doctor’s office in Galway on Thursday in an effort to deter women from seeking abortion pills just three days after abortion services became legal.

About half a dozen people stood outside the Galvia West medical centre in Galway city with signs bearing slogans including “Say no to abortion in Galway” and “Real doctors don’t terminate their patients.”

Organisers said it was a peaceful demonstration that received positive feedback from the public.

However, pro-choice groups condemned the picket as intimidation and urged the government to establish exclusion zones to prevent protests outside abortion service providers.

“I do find that this is public harassment, effectively, of people who are trying to access abortion services here,” Ailbhe Smyth from the Together for Yes campaign told Newstalk radio station on Friday.

“It’s despicable behaviour because they are deliberately seeking to deter women from accessing an entirely lawful health service in this country.”

She called on the health minister, Simon Harris, to deliver on a promise to introduce legislation for exclusion zones around medical practices offering abortion services, a call backed by Colm O’Gorman, the head of Amnesty Ireland.

“Exclusion zones don’t mean people cannot protest,” he tweeted. “But they must do so in a way that doesn’t interfere with another person’s right to access a lawful health service.”

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Meanwhile, other anti-abortion activists are believed to be behind several websites that mimic myoptions.ie, a support site for women affected by unplanned pregnancies run by the Health Service Executive (HSE), a state agency.

The site, which launched on Tuesday, directs women who seek abortions to advice and information about how to access the service, which is set to roll out across Ireland in the coming weeks and months.

The HSE warned this week of websites with possible hidden agendas using similar names to its helpline.

The mimic sites try to steer women away from abortions by warning of health dangers and offering ultrasounds to show an image of the foetus.

“Call us now and book a free ultrasound if you are thinking about termination and need to know how far pregnant you are and all you need to know to be fully informed,” says one such site, myoptions.website.

It links to research which claims to link abortions to breast cancer, an association which has been widely discredited by physicians and scientists.

When the Guardian called its helpline, it was answered by Eamon Murphy, a veteran anti-abortion activist based in Dublin. “We’re flooded with phone calls and demands,” he said.

He cited research purportedly connecting abortions to cancer. “We’re probably the only people telling women of the link.”

Asked about misleading callers by mimicking the state’s helpline, Murphy said his site was set up last year, predating the official site. Asked for more details, he ended the call.

Ireland started rolling out abortion services on 1 January in the wake of the referendum vote last year to lift a near-total ban on abortion, a landmark in the country’s social liberalisation.

A total of 66.4% of voters delivered a stinging rebuke to the Roman Catholic church by voting to repeal the eighth amendment to the constitution, which gave “the unborn” equal rights to pregnant women and made abortion illegal even in cases of rape, incest or severe danger to the mother.

Fast-track legislation led to the Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act being signed into law on 20 December 2018, paving the way for service rollout this month.

Most of the state’s 19 maternity units, plus clinics run by other organisations, are expected to start offering abortion services within weeks.

About 20 women reportedly sought terminations on the first working day of the service on Wednesday.

Under the new system, GPs will provide abortions to women up to nine weeks pregnant and hospitals will perform terminations at between nine and 12 weeks.

After 12 weeks, abortions will be allowed only in exceptional circumstances. The service will be largely free, with the state paying GPs approximately €400 (£358) per patient.