Northern Ireland Is About to Reform Its Abortion Law – Now What?

Northern Ireland Is About to Reform Its Abortion Law – Now What?
If its government doesn't reconvene by October 21st, its draconian law will be tossed out the window. Activists are counting down the days.

by Mary McGill
18 October 2019

With just a few days to go until October 21st, it is almost certain that Northern Ireland’s draconian law against abortion will be reformed. The political situation in Northern Ireland is complex. The region’s devolved government has been suspended for over two years. For campaigners fighting for equal rights issues like abortion, this stalemate has been frustrating.

That is, until July of this year, when Westminster issued a ruling paving the way for the liberalisation of the region’s abortion legislation, provided Northern Ireland’s government does not reconvene before October 21st. Although there are fears that Boris Johnson will use abortion in Northern Ireland as a bargaining tactic in Brexit negotiations, at this late stage reform is unlikely to be derailed

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/mbmkbb/northern-ireland-abortion-law-reform

Government accused of using NI abortion to coax DUP into backing Brexit deal

Government accused of using NI abortion to coax DUP into backing Brexit deal
Stella Creasy suggested the government had 'sold out' women to get support from the hardline party

By Nicola Bartlett, Political Correspondent
16 OCT 2019

Stella Creasy has accused the government of selling out women in Northern Ireland to get the DUP to back their Brexit deal.

The Labour MP, who was instrumental in changing the law to liberalise abortion in the region, said Boris Johnson was using women as "bargaining chips".

Continued: https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/government-accused-using-ni-abortion-20637461

16.10.2019

Democratic Unionist Party

Irish novelist warns of Brexit-style revolt against elite on abortion vote

Irish novelist warns of Brexit-style revolt against elite on abortion vote
As referendum day nears, Patrick McCabe says Dublin media liberals could pay for snobbery towards rural Ireland

Henry McDonald
Sun 8 Apr 2018

One of Ireland’s most critically acclaimed novelists has warned that the country’s referendum on abortion in May could be a “Brexit/Trump” moment for Ireland, exposing similar divisions between rural voters and city-dwellers.

Patrick McCabe, the author of bestsellers The Butcher Boy and Breakfast on Pluto, both made into feature films, said there was a danger that sections of the “metropolitan media in Dublin” could alienate voters in rural constituencies and help usher in a no vote against abortion reform.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/apr/07/ireland-abortion-vote-trump-style-backlash-liberal-elite-patrick-mccabe

08.04.2018

Thousands Marched for Abortion Rights In Ireland, Urging the Government to Repeal the Eighth Amendment

Thousands Marched for Abortion Rights In Ireland, Urging the Government to Repeal the Eighth Amendment

by Marykate Jasper
October 1st, 2017

In the Republic of Ireland, thanks to the Eighth Amendment to the constitution, abortion is almost entirely illegal. There are a few exceptions, only signed into law in 2013, which provide for a legal abortion in cases where the pregnant person’s life is at risk, but otherwise anyone who undergoes an abortion in-country can face up to 14 years in jail. (Remember how terrifying it was when Trump suggested there should be “some form” of punishment for women who get an abortion? Irish people are living that nightmare right now.)

Continued at source: https://www.themarysue.com/ireland-marchforchoice-abortion-rights/

01.10.2017

Brexit Could Worsen Abortion Rights For The Women Of Gibraltar

Brexit Could Worsen Abortion Rights For The Women Of Gibraltar

“What will happen after Gibraltar leaves the EU too? We just don’t know. Will women still be able to get in to Spain to get abortions there, or will they need long border queues or a visa? No one knows.”

Posted on April 17, 2017

Gibraltar is equal parts beautiful and bizarre, created through treaty in the 18th century as a little slice of England dozens of miles from the Costa del Sol. Today more than 32,000 people live in the shadow of the Rock of Gibraltar from which the British overseas territory takes its name.

More than 300 years after the Treaty of Utrecht was signed, the Rock remains true to the spirit in which it was first established – an outpost of traditional British culture. Most Gibraltarians are bilingual but speak English with clipped accents, use the pound sterling as currency, and shop in the local Waitrose and Debenhams.

Continued at source: Buzzfeed: https://www.buzzfeed.com/siobhanfenton/how-brexit-could-affect-the-abortion-rights-of-thousands-of

17.04.2017