Northern Ireland prepares for momentous abortion, same-sex marriage changes
Amanda Ferguson, Reuters
October 21, 2019
BELFAST — Campaigners who fought for decades to end Northern Ireland’s same sex-marriage ban and restrictions on abortion prepare on Monday for a momentous change to the laws on both at the stroke of midnight.
Northern Ireland is the only part of the United Kingdom that does not allow same-sex marriage. Also, unlike England, Scotland and Wales, laws in Northern Ireland forbid abortion except where a mother’s life is at risk, bans that have been upheld by the region’s block of conservative politicians.