International Safe Abortion Day, marked annually on 28 September, provides an opportunity to recognise progress in reproductive healthcare while reflecting on the work that remains to ensure equitable access to care. This year, the School of Social Work and Social Policy played a central role in a series of events spanning education, public engagement, research and policy discussion, highlighting Trinity's contribution to advancing reproductive health and rights.
The programme of activity began on 26 September with the Inaugural Abortion and Reproductive Care Education Day for medical students from across the island of Ireland. Hosted by Dr Catherine Conlon's ADAPT study in the School of Social Work and Social Policy, the event was organised jointly with the TCD School of Medicine, the Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA), TCD Women's Health Society, TCD Reproductive Health Society and the Association of Medical Students in Ireland.
Notably, the event was entirely student-led. Medical students designed the curriculum, invited speakers and coordinated the programme, bringing together participants from all eight medical schools on the island. Speakers included Professor Aoife Mullally, HSE Clinical Lead for Termination of Pregnancy; Dr Trish Horgan of START GPs; Dr Caitriona Henchon, Maeve Taylor and Aoife Daly from the IFPA; Professor John Sullivan of St James's Hospital; and lead organiser Kiran Singh. Registration was oversubscribed, with a full-capacity audience gathering in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute.
Trinity also marked International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September by illuminating the College Green-facing façade of Front Square. The initiative followed a submission from the School of Social Work and Social Policy and reflected the University's engagement with reproductive policy and rights research led by Dr Catherine Conlon.
Trinity was one of 16 locations participating in this pan-European illumination campaign, stretching from Scotland to Armenia. By joining universities, public bodies and civic institutions across Europe, the College signalled its support for ongoing efforts to improve access to reproductive healthcare, while recognising both the progress achieved and the challenges that remain.
The School's contribution to the occasion also extended to research and public scholarship. For Safe Abortion Day 2026, Professor Ruth Fletcher of Queen Mary University of London curated the Morrigan Blog, a feminist blog series of the Doing Feminist Legal Work (DFLW) network reflecting on the social consequences of legal regulation of abortion care.
Dr Catherine Conlon and colleagues contributed a blog entitled "The 'Timing Out' Risk from the Rigid, 'Least-Time' Model of Care of s.12 2018 Act – How, Why and With What Consequence?" Drawing on quantitative and qualitative research conducted with both people accessing abortion care and GPs providing services since the introduction of the 2018 Act, the authors examine how the implementation of Section 12 can create barriers to care.
Activities concluded on 30 September with Europe in Action: Citizen Participation and Women's Health, an event hosted by Dr Catherine Conlon in the TRiSS Seminar Room at Trinity College Dublin in partnership with the National Women's Council.
The discussion brought together leading voices in reproductive health and rights, including MEP Maria Walsh; Adriana Lamačková, Associate Director for National Legal Strategies in the Centre for Reproductive Rights Europe Programme; and Nika Kovač, coordinator of the My Voice, My Choice campaign.
Speakers explored the role of citizen participation in advancing reproductive rights across Europe, examining the current landscape of reproductive healthcare, the democratic mechanisms of the European Union and the impact of the My Voice, My Choice European Citizens' Initiative, which mobilised more than one million supporters in support of improved access to safe abortion care across the EU. The event was followed by an in-person meeting of the National Women's Council's Abortion Working Group, which the School was pleased to host for the first time.
Across the week of activities, the School helped foster discussion, learning and engagement on reproductive health and rights in Ireland and beyond.