Ivana Bacik
Question:230. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Health his views on rogue crisis pregnancy agencies performing transvaginal ultrasounds in early pregnancy; and his plans to regulate the practice. [9100/23]
View answerWednesday, 22 February 2023
Questions (230)
Written answers
In relation to rogue crisis pregnancy agencies, the HSE - along with my department are aware and continue to monitor the situation in relation to disingenuous agencies operating in Ireland. These agencies may not be upfront about their intentions and may try to influence a person’s decision regarding their pregnancy. Signs of a disingenuous service include a delay in giving pregnancy test results, advice and supports that do not include information on abortion services, and the use of negative or frightening language.
The HSE recommend that people should contact My Options which is the official HSE service if they need information or support in the event of an unplanned pregnancy, or if they need post-abortion supports.
The HSE has taken several measures to address the issue of disingenuous agencies targeting people experiencing unplanned pregnancy, promoting awareness of My Options through Google search ads, targeted social media, out of home (OOH), radio and digital audio advertising.
The My Options search ad campaign is performing extremely well and appears as the top ad or as the top organic search result for any related searches. To help combat the promotion of disingenuous messaging, the HSE are monitoring any competitors and have set a bid management strategy to automatically increase their bids if another website appears ahead of theirs. The HSE monitor the search ad performance and that of disingenuous agencies on an on-going basis and share feedback with Google.