DUBLIN—When Michelle booked in to have her first abortion at a clinic in Birmingham she told her family and friends in Dublin she was working in Belfast that day.

“I was afraid if someone tried to ring me they’d get a different dial tone or phone code and start asking questions,” says the mother of one from Dublin who asked not to be identified.

Like thousands of women from Ireland every year, Michelle travelled to England for an abortion in secret.

Neither Northern Ireland, which is part of the U.K., nor the Republic of Ireland currently allow abortions, even in extreme cases such as rape, suicidal risk or if the mother has a life-threatening illness.

But the situation is set to change dramatically in both parts of Ireland.

On Thursday, Marie Stopes International will open a clinic in Belfast city centre — a two-hour train journey from Dublin — which will offer medical abortions to women during the first nine weeks of pregnancy whose lives are at risk or are facing serious physical or mental problems. The clinic insists the law allows for abortion in these circumstances.

When Michelle went, she told only her partner, her mother and her doctor of her intention to go, and after gathering enough money, arranging flights and child care for her son, she travelled alone.

“It was a very isolating situation to be in. Some other girls at the clinic finished at the same time as myself and were greeted by family members afterwards. I was on my own and had to make my way back to the airport by train. I felt like it was a horrible dirty thing,” she adds.

Michelle went to Birmingham for an abortion after becoming pregnant while on the contraceptive pill — something that happened to her again just eight months later. This time she travelled to Liverpool, because she says she felt guilty about going for a second abortion and didn’t want to be recognized.

She says she regrets the second abortion but organizing to go abroad means the decision must be made quickly. “Having to go from Ireland it’s a rushed procedure. You can’t sit down and relax and think about it. You have to check flights, organize child care, worry about the money. Then the day comes and you’re on a plane,” she says.

Ironically, abortion is an issue which has united Catholic and Protestant political forces in Northern Ireland. The Catholic and Presbyterian churches and politicians on both sides have warned against any liberalization in abortion laws. Precious Life, an anti-abortion group, plans to hold a daylong demonstration outside the clinic on its opening day.

But some are questioning the impact the new clinic will have in addressing the needs of more than 5,000 women on the island of Ireland who seek abortion each year.

“The vast majority of women from the south of Ireland travel for reasons other than life-saving reasons,” says Niall Behan, chief executive of the Irish Family Planning Association, based in Dublin. “What they are doing is to be welcomed but the vast majority will still travel to England for abortions,” he adds.

“It’s an important first step but they are only doing medical abortion, it’s only up until nine weeks of pregnancy and it’s not free,” says Mara Clarke, director of the Abortion Support Network, based in London which gives Irish women accommodation and financial help in seeking abortions. Marie Stopes confirmed the clinic will charge £430 for medical abortions, which includes an £80 consultation fee.

The Republic of Ireland meanwhile is awaiting a government report which aims to set out a plan for how its own muddled abortion laws can be clarified. The report could recommend allowing for abortions to be carried out where women face life-threatening risks.

Ireland has voted three times on the thorny issue, including a 1992 referendum following a travel ban imposed on a raped and pregnant 14-year-old whose parents wanted to take her to England for a termination. The Irish Supreme Court overturned the travel ban and said that since the child was suicidal she had a right to abortion.

The legacy of the judgment lives on and in 2010, following a case taken by three women who travelled to England for abortions, the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ireland had to clarify when abortions could be performed to save a woman’s life.

Already the battle lines are being drawn over the issue with some government politicians, under pressure from conservative constituencies, pledging to oppose any attempt to introduce abortion into Ireland.

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Behan says Irish society has moved on from the days of polarization on the issue. “People have been debating this for 30 years and they have made their minds up,” he says.

However much things have changed in Ireland, it is unlikely that women like Michelle will soon be given the same choices available to women just across the water in the U.K., since any changes in providing abortion will remain focused on restricted reasons for abortion.

“I can’t sit down with a friend over a cup of tea and tell her about it,” she says. “It shouldn’t be like that. You should be able to get on a bus or a train and make a choice over what happens with your body and then be able to get back in time to get your child from school and get back to your life.”