Greg Daly
The Master of the Rotunda Hospital has declined to say whether he believes expectant mothers whose babies have been diagnosed with Down Syndrome should be able to have abortions in Ireland.
Asked by The Irish Catholic whether it is his view that women expecting babies with Down Syndrome should be allowed to have abortions in Ireland rather than in England, he declined to comment after repeated attempts to contact him.
Speaking on The Late Late Show on January 8, Prof. Fergal Malone said it was his preference that women whose babies have been diagnosed with a so-called ‘fatal foetal abnormality’ should be able to have their abortions in Ireland if that is what they want rather than having to travel to England.
He said the Rotunda helped women who wanted to go to England in these circumstances to make contact with a suitable hospital.
However, in November 2014, Prof. Malone told The Irish Times that when it is discovered that a foetus has a serious abnormality such as Down Syndrome or Edward’s Syndrome, the Rotunda will also give women who choose an abortion in these circumstances the contact details for a major British hospital with which the Rotunda has a close working relationship.
In some other countries the vast majority of women whose unborn babies are found to have Down Syndrome opt for abortion.
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After graduating from UCD in 1991, Prof. Malone completed his obstetric training in the US, where he worked at New York’s Columbia University Medical Centre directing one of the largest high-risk obstetric programmes in the country.
Since his return to Ireland in 2005 he has implemented a national first trimester screening programme for babies with abnormalities such as Down Syndrome.
On The Late Late Show he revealed that last year in the Rotunda there were 40 cases of women carrying babies with a condition that would mean their baby would die at or shortly after birth. He said that 28 of these women chose to have an abortion.