News

Cork City Councillors and Crisis Pregnancy Agency celebrate the work of Cork crisis pregnancy and sexual health groups

Councillor Dara Murphy who deputised for the Lord Mayor of Cork, Councillor Brian Bermingham welcomed the Board members of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency to Cork City Hall on the 10th September 2008 to celebrate the work of groups in Cork in addressing the issue of crisis pregnancy. The Chair of the Agency, Katharine Bulbulia and the Agency’s Board met with representatives of six services in Cork which receive Agency funding: CURA, the Irish Family Planning Association, Life Pregnancy Care, Sexual Health Centre Cork, the West Cork Crisis Pregnancy Counselling Service and the Youth Health Service.

The Agency also announced that a pilot certificate level training course in crisis pregnancy counselling skills will commence in Cork in October. This is the second year that the Agency has provided funding for a crisis pregnancy counselling course in partnership with National University Ireland (NUI), Maynooth. The high level of demand from applicants in the Munster region has prompted NUI, Maynooth to deliver the course in Cork City.

The Chair of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency, Katharine Bulbulia said: “I am delighted to meet with representatives of the six services which receive funding from the Agency and celebrate their excellent work in addressing the issue of crisis pregnancy in Cork. The commencement of a crisis pregnancy counselling course in the city this October will maintain standards of good practice in crisis pregnancy counselling while enabling accredited counsellors and specifically trained volunteers to up-skill in the area.”

Councillor Dara Murphy said: “It is a pleasure to welcome the Board of the Crisis Pregnancy Agency to Cork in recognition of their funding and support, which provides a valuable resource for the people of Cork and neighbouring counties.”

 
From left: Caroline Spillane, Director, Crisis Pregnancy Agency, Councillor Laura McGonigle, who deputised for the Lord Mayor of Cork and Katharine Bulbulia, Chairperson, Crisis Pregnancy Agency. On the 9th September, Councillor Laura McGonigle addressed a gathering of all funded agencies and other professionals in Cork who are working directly or indirectly in the area of crisis pregnancy.
 
For more information click here.

Concealed Pregnancy Guidelines for Health Professionals

'Concealed Pregnancy: A case-study approach from an Irish setting', commissioned by the Agency and written by Catherine Conlon, University College Dublin (UCD), estimated that 1 in every 625 births in a Dublin maternity hospital was concealed and that 1 in every 403 births in a rural maternity hospital was concealed.

On foot of these findings, the Agency and the Health Service Executive (HSE) West, has undertaken the development of a set of guidelines for health professionals, to guide and inform services in relevant maternity healthcare settings to respond effectively to women concealing pregnancy. Guidelines for Health Professionals working in Maternity settings on the Care of Women Concealing Pregnancy will be launched later this year. 

To view a copy of 'Concealed Pregnancy: A case-study approach from an Irish Setting', click here.

Crisis Pregnancy Agency responds to the Health Information Bill

The Agency responded to the Department of Health and Children’s call for views on the forthcoming Health Information Bill.  The main objectives of the Bill are to:

• Establish a legislative framework to enable information to be used to best effect to enhance medical care and patient safety throughout the health system;
• Facilitate the greater use of information technologies for better delivery of patient services and
• Underpin effective information governance for the health system generally.

The Agency supports the development of a health system where high-quality information is at the centre of all decisions concerning the planning and management of health services nationally and locally, which will work to enhance services for the patient.   However, the Agency highlighted the potential for inappropriate disclosure or unsanctioned access to private and confidential data.  Incorporating legislative safeguards to ensure confidentiality (excluding situations where there is risk of harm to the person, to other persons or there is a child protection concern), privacy and the patient’s right to withhold consent in very sensitive situations was included in the Agency’s recommendations.  The Agency also supported the development of guidelines for practitioners outlining clear ethical procedures in accessing and sharing information for research purposes.

For more information about the Health Information Bill, click here.

Cost of contraception tender awarded to Women's Education Research and Resource Centre (WERRC), University College Dublin (UCD)

Research commissioned by the Agency and Department of Health and Children reports that the cost of contraception can lessen the impact of sexual health promotion, particularly among the younger population, people with lower levels of educational attainment and people who are on lower income levels (ISSHR, 2006).

The Agency’s strategy commits to developing policy proposals on how the cost of contraception can be minimised in order to facilitate consistent contraceptive use among specific risk groups. In July, the Agency requested tenders to develop a literature review and policy analysis on the cost of contraception to inform the development of policy proposals.  The tender was awarded to the Women's Education, Research and Resource Centre (WERRC), School of Social Justice, UCD.
 
To view a copy of the Irish Study of Sexual Health and Relationships (ISSHR), click here.

Crisis Pregnancy Agency presents to the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children

The Agency made an evidence-based presentation to the Joint Committee on the Constitutional Amendment on Children in July.  The key points made by the Agency were that:

• With regard to the acknowledgement and affirmation of the natural and imprescriptible rights of all children, the Agency supports that children’s rights in all types of families would benefit from protection. Stigma is still an issue and children of unmarried parents would benefit from equal treatment irrespective of the marital status of their parents.
• With regard to the provision of legal authority so that all children may be eligible for voluntary adoption, the Agency supports that children from married parents would benefit from the option of adoption. Crisis pregnancies can occur within marriage and the option of adoption is not currently available to all parents.
• With regard to the term of reference that no provision in the Constitution should invalidate any law providing for absolute or strict liability in respect of sexual offences against or in connection with children, the Agency presented evidence indicating that the age of first sexual intercourse in Ireland is dropping and that sizable numbers of young people under the age of 17 engage in consensual sexual activity.  This needs to be borne in mind in strict liability decisions.

For further information on this presentation and related research, please contact Maeve O’Brien, Policy Officer on 01 814 6292 or at mobrien@crisispregnancy.ie.