Catholic Union members and supporters had the opportunity to hear from Dr Dermot Kearney about how his support for women who changed their minds about having an abortion led to disciplinary action being taken against him.
Dr Kearney was the guest speaker at the Catholic Union’s latest webinar on Monday 28 March.
Dr Kearney had 10 allegations of misconduct levelled against him by the General Medical Council (GMC) after offering treatment to women who had taken the first of two abortion pills but changed their minds.
Since 2018 he has been prescribing progesterone to women who decide they want to continue with their pregnancies after beginning the process of a medically induced abortion. Dr Kearney says prescribing progesterone has led to at least 32 babies being born, who might not otherwise have survived, and improved survival rates from 25% to 55%.
Despite there being no complaints against him from the women involved, Dr Kearney faced accusations of being “disingenuous” from the GMC and was told he could no longer prescribe progesterone.
After an appeal hearing at the GMC, which Dr Kearney described as a “Kangaroo court”, he applied to have his case considered by the High Court. With the support of Christian Concern, he built up a strong defence on the basis of an academic trial into progesterone and testimonies from those he had supported.
The GMC backed down before the case had its hearing and the allegations against Dr Kearney were dropped, although his colleague Dr Eileen Reilly still faces sanctions.
Dr Kearney talked to the Catholic Union about the case and where it leaves his work.
Watch the webinar here.