The Irish Times only apologised for abortion story after extreme pressure

The Pro-Life Campaign has insisted that The Irish Times has “little or no credibility” when it comes to reporting on abortion after new documents reveal how the paper tried to play down an instance when it published an abortion related story which was found to have no basis in fact.

On August 23, 2013 a front-page story headed ‘First abortion carried out under new legislation’ claimed that Dr Rhona Mahony, master of the National Maternity Hospital, had with former master Dr Peter Boylan been involved in the abortion of 18-week-old twins after their mother demonstrated signs of sepsis.

It was only after Dr Mahony made it clear that she would “do what is necessary” to get a suitable apology that The Irish Times publicly admitted the story had no basis in fact.

Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act and quoted in The Sunday Times showed the reported events never took place.

Other documents reveal how The Irish Times sought to play down the scale of its error, causing Dr Mahony to challenge how the proposed correction suggested the story was wrong merely in “some minor details”.

“It also suggests that I have engaged with you and have discussed clinical details of a case”, wrote Dr Mahony, adding “the case described in your paper simply did not happen and this must be reflected in your apology.”

Commenting on the revelations, PLC Deputy Chairperson, Cora Sherlock told The Irish Catholic that “it is pretty obvious from its correspondence with the National Maternity Hospital that The Irish Times went to great lengths to play down the seriousness of what occurred.

“It is also clear that the National Maternity Hospital wanted a front page apology but The Irish Times were determined to bury it on an inside page which they did in the end,” she said.

Ms Sherlock insisted that “The Irish Times has little or no credibility left when it comes to reporting on the abortion issue based on all that has gone on in the past two years,” adding that there are many “who no longer trust what they read in The Irish Times.”