Rethinking Reproductive Governance: What Can Public Administration on the Island of Ireland Learn From Abortion Accompaniment?

Original

Rethinking Reproductive Governance: What Can Public Administration on the Island of Ireland Learn From Abortion Accompaniment?

Anna Theresa Schmid

Abstract

ABSTRACT The recent decriminalization of abortion marked a crucial step toward improved reproductive care on the island of Ireland. However, this has not translated into fully accessible abortion provision—barriers, including inaccessible services, persist, leaving gaps that public administration has not formally addressed. In response, informal actors, particularly abortion accompaniers, may continue playing a critical role in enabling care. Drawing on asynchronous online discussions with 19 individuals who accompanied abortions over the past decade, this article examines how accompaniment operates not merely as individual support but as a structural necessity that illustrates alternative futures for abortion administration. The analysis demonstrates how accompaniment assumes a quasi‐administrative function, helping individuals navigate bureaucratic systems and compensating for shortcomings in formal provision. It also highlights how accompaniment embodies alternative models of care, rooted in demedicalization and reproductive justice. I outline key learnings for public administration: rethinking abortion governance as a system that centers on accessibility and dignity, learning from accompaniment to design community‐based services, and eliminating bureaucratic barriers to create more equitable abortion care. Current accompaniment practices are not simply a workaround for legal and medical failures but an indicator of systemic shortcomings—offering a blueprint for more accessible reproductive health care that truly serves the public.