Thursday, November 22, 2012

Automated anti-abortion line shut down

The service provider that has been sending anti-abortion automated calls to households across Ireland has been shut down after it was identified by the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner.

Since the calls began yesterday, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner has received more than 30 official complaints related to the automated calls.

A spokeswoman for the office said that it was marked as a priority case.

“We would consider 30 complaints to be a very large number, so it was made a priority,” she said. “We can ensure that no more calls will be made from this number, but the may change to another.”

The spokeswoman could not name who was behind the automated calls as it is still under investigation.

The calls were made from a Dublin number and claimed to be from a professor emeritus of obstetrics and gynaecology at NUI Galway. 


The automated caller said that Irish doctors do not put the life of a mother at risk, even if it means the unborn child’s death.

The call references a recent case where a pregnant woman died in Ireland, but did not directly mention the case of Savita Halappanavar.

Before the number was shut down, the Office of the Data Protection Commissioner advised people not to engage in the call.