Closure of crisis pregnancy service announced

Cura, the crisis pregnancy service which was established by the Irish Bishops' Conference more than 40 years ago, is closing for good. 

Cura’s national executive council said Cura had been compelled to close due to a decrease in demand for its services along with the accreditation requirements associated with the new regulatory environment for counselling.

Established in 1977 and run by a team of staff and volunteers, it was a free and confidential service designed to provide support for people facing a crisis pregnancy situation. 

The Athlone branch of Cura was founded in 1985 and operated from a house in St Mary's Place. As of 2009, there were 25 volunteers working with Cura in Athlone. 

Two years ago, however, a reconfiguration of the service led to the closure of seven centres, including the one in Athlone. Since then, service users in the Athlone area have been directed to call Cura's Galway centre. The former Cura premises in St Mary's Place has since been sold. 

In a statement, the Irish Bishops' Conference "acknowledged with deep gratitude the valuable contribution that Cura has made over the years in its support of expectant mothers, fathers and their babies. 

"Since its establishment in 1977, Cura staff and volunteers have undertaken important work through its national help-line, counselling and information services, to assist women facing crisis pregnancies in an oftentimes judgemental and unforgiving social environment," said the statement.

"Since 1996, when aggregated records were introduced, over the 21-year period up to 2017, Cura managed 163,400 face-to-face and telephone counselling sessions with clients."

In response to the recent referendum vote to repeal the Eighth Amendment, the Bishops' Conference said it intended to establish, by March of next year, a new "Council for Life, whose role will be to advise and advocate for the Catholic Church in Ireland on a consistent ethic of life and care for those most at risk."