Two women have live tweeted their journey from the Republic of Ireland to the United Kingdom to have an abortion, to protest the country’s strict reproductive laws.
The pair — one who was seeking the abortion and the other travelling with her for support — sent their first tweet on Saturday.
The women continued to share photos and messages throughout the three-day trip, accompanied by #TwoWomenTravel.
They also used #RepealThe8th — a reference to the eighth amendment of Ireland’s constitution, which makes abortion illegal except where a mother’s life is at risk.
The tweets tagged Ireland’s Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Enda Kenny, with the women suggesting he might like to “hit us back the taxi fare” between clinics after an “unexpected venue change”, and asking where he was watching the Olympic Games from.
While Mr Kenny did not respond, Irish Health Minister Simon Harris, from Mr Kenny’s Fine Gael party, tweeted in support of the women.
The Irish Family Planning Association (IFPA) reports at least 166,951 women have travelled from Ireland to other countries to access abortion services since 1980, most of them to the UK.
In 2015 alone, 3,451 — or nine people each day — travelled to the UK from Ireland to have the procedure, the IFPA said, citing UK Health Department figures.