Abortion

A last-ditch attempt to stop the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland by rushing a bill through Stormont in a single day has failed. The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which is opposed to abortion in all circumstances, attempted to introduce the Defence of the Unborn Child Bill 2019 y

An 158-year-old law criminalising abortion in Northern Ireland will be repealed at midnight tonight under a law passed by MPs this summer. Under section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Act 2019, sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 are repealed in Northern I

The UK Government has published guidance for healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland on abortion law changes which will come into effect later this month if devolution is not restored. Under section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill, secondary legislation providing for access

A woman who had to travel to England for a termination after being told that her unborn child had a fatal foetal abnormality has been successful in her challenge to Northern Ireland's abortion law. Following the UK Supreme Court’s ruling that the relevant legislation is incompatible with Artic

The Northern Ireland Office will soon launch an "awareness campaign" to set out how it plans to implement a law requiring abortion access and same-sex marriage to be introduced if devolution is not restored later this month. The Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Act 2019 requires the Northern I

New Zealand is set to decriminalise abortion under new plans intended to bring the law "into line with many other developed countries". Under the present legal framework, which has remained unchanged since 1978, an abortion is only lawful in certain circumstances, including where continuing the preg

Plans to extend abortion access and same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland have been approved by the House of Lords, following revisions to the process and timetable. MPs voted last week to amend the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation) Bill to include provisions on abortion and marriage which will

Abortion access and same-sex marriage will be extended to Northern Ireland through secondary UK legislation if a Northern Ireland Executive is not formed by October under plans approved by MPs yesterday. In a free vote, MPs voted by 332-99 and 383-73 to support amendments to the Northern Ireland (Ex

A key Westminster committee has called on the UK government to take action to address UN findings about the human rights impact of Northern Ireland's restrictive abortion laws. In a report published today, the women and equalities committee said there had been several significant developments since

In January 1992, a 14-year-old girl discovered that she was pregnant. The girl, now known as “X”, had been subjected to sexual abuse at the hands of her friend’s father since the age of 12, and when her parents were on a trip to Lourdes in August 1990, he raped her for the first ti

A key UN committee has again urged the UK Government to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland in order to satisfy the UK's international human rights obligations. The UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women yesterday published its concluding observations on the UK's eigh

Louth City Council is to seek legal advice on a proposed bye-law to prevent anti-abortion campaigners from targeting healthcare facilities offering abortion services. Councillors approved a motion by Cllr Emma Coffey, principal at Emma Coffey Solicitors, which proposed restrictions on certain behavi

The Health Service Executive (HSE) has secured a temporary High Court injunction against a man who has allegedly set up a misleading website that is confusingly similar to the HSE's crisis pregnancy freephone service, "My Options". The temporary injunction was granted today by Ms Justice Leonie Reyn

The High Court in Belfast will this week hear a landmark legal challenge aimed at finding Northern Ireland's abortion law in breach of the UK's human rights commitments. The case is being taken by Sarah Ewart, a woman who travelled to England for an abortion after a fatal foetal abnormality diagnosi

Máiréad Enright, senior lecturer at Birmingham Law School and co-director of the Northern/Irish Feminist Judgments Project, sets out options for reform. The Health (Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy) Act 2018 (HRPTA) makes no provision for exclusion zones to prevent protests at lo