There are so many reasons for why someone may need to undergo an abortion, and it is not only confined to just those who have unplanned pregnancies from not using any form of contraception. Even if do you use contraception, something unfortunately may happen to reduce its effectiveness, and you may be unlucky and become pregnant. Even if your contraception fails for any reason and you get the morning after pill as soon as possible, there is still a chance of pregnancy occurring. No form of contraception is 100% effective at the end of the day.
There are also women who may fall pregnant following rape, although the incidence of this is very low. Abortion may also be necessary if a woman's life is in danger. There was actually a well-publicised case a few years ago in Cork about a woman who was undergoing treatment for cancer and fell pregnant, but was advised to terminate her pregnancy because of the potential risks it posed to her health. She was refused an abortion here in Ireland, and had to travel to the UK instead despite being very ill. A difficult decision to make was made even harder because of the fact that she was not allowed to have it here, and it was beyond cruel to have given her added stress of travelling abroad. (A newspaper article I found online about the story -
http://www.independent.ie/regionals/...-27340507.html)
I think a woman should be given the freedom to decide whether or not to have an abortion here in Ireland. I am sure that undergoing an abortion is never a decision taken lightly, with a variety of reasons for why someone may consider having one. The woman may not be in the right circumstances to have a child, or as mentioned in the case above, it is in the best interests of their health to terminate the pregnancy. It is a sensitive, controversial area, but I think every woman has the right to choose to have an abortion, without having to worry about travelling abroad to have one.