Northern Ireland’s women won abortion rights but its politicians won’t accept that

After Stormont voted to restrict abortion rights, Westminster is intervening to secure the services women are legally entitled to

Susan McKay
20 Mar 2021

Northern Ireland is no country for young women. Out of 87 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) at Stormont last week, just 12 voted to allow women the right to choose abortion in line with international human rights standards. These are built into a law smuggled into NI while the institutions in Belfast were collapsed in acrimony in 2019, following an inspiring collective effort by local feminists and the British Labour MP Stella Creasy. Jubilant, proud, relieved and tearful, women stood at Stormont with banners that said, simply, “Decriminalised”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/mar/20/northern-ireland-women-abortion-rights-stormont-westminster

DUP will ‘vigorously oppose’ any new abortion laws in North

UK government says it is disappointed full abortion services not yet available

Fri, Mar 19, 2021

The DUP will “vigorously oppose” any further legislative action to see new abortion laws implemented in the region, an MP has warned.

The law was liberalised last year to allow terminations in Northern Ireland following action taken at Westminster.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/dup-will-vigorously-oppose-any-new-abortion-laws-in-north-1.4514532

Further ‘legislative action’ on abortion under review in North

NI Secretary of State reportedly prompted by concerns that women still travelling to Britain

Mar 18, 2021

Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis is “considering further legislative action” to see new abortion laws implemented in the region.

The law was liberalised last year to allow terminations following action taken at Westminster.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/further-legislative-action-on-abortion-under-review-in-north-1.4514202

Abortion: Assembly backs change in NI abortion law

March 15, 2021

A bill which seeks to amend the law in Northern Ireland to prevent abortions in cases of non-fatal disabilities, including Down's Syndrome, has been backed by a majority of MLAs.

The Severe Fetal Impairment Bill, brought by DUP MLA Paul Givan, passed its second stage by 48 votes to 12.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-56404024

Northern Ireland drags feet on abortion a year after UK orders roll-out

Northern Ireland drags feet on abortion a year after UK orders roll-out

Amanda Ferguson
June 24, 2020

BELFAST (Reuters) - Almost a year after the British parliament voted to legalise abortion in Northern Ireland, one of the last regions in Western Europe with a ban, women there face gaps in provision due to renewed local political roadblocks.

The region's socially conservative health minister Robin Swann has declined to order the health service to provide abortions, commission information campaigns, and also declined to introduce emergency telemedicine measures offered in the rest of the United Kingdom during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.pe.ca/news/world/northern-ireland-drags-feet-on-abortion-a-year-after-uk-orders-roll-out-465720/

Why the fight for Irish women’s abortion rights isn’t over

Why the fight for Irish women’s abortion rights isn’t over
Despite at-home termination methods being made available to the rest of the UK, women and girls in Northern Ireland are still being put at risk

By Brooke Theis
Apr 15, 2020

Last October, women in Northern Ireland celebrated as the country voted for their rights to have an abortion. A safe abortion, where they were no longer forced to drain their bank accounts secretly travelling over to England, or risk their lives taking illegal online pills – rights that women in the rest of the UK have had since the late Sixties.

Although laws permitting all terminations in Northern Ireland within the first 12 months of pregnancy were meant to come into effect on 31 March, the government missed this deadline. The coronavirus crisis, the lockdown and mounting pressures on health services are claimed to be the reason for the delay. Meanwhile, in the rest of the UK temporary measures have been put in place to allow women and girls to self-manage abortion at home with pills approved by the World Health Organisation.

Continued: https://www.harpersbazaar.com/uk/culture/a32154454/the-fight-for-irish-womens-abortion-rights-isnt-over/

15.04.2020

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N. Ireland – Abortion: New laws need full discussion says Arlene Foster

Abortion: New laws need full discussion says Arlene Foster

By Jayne McCormack, BBC News NI Political Reporter
6 April 2020
The Stormont executive will have a "full discussion" about how abortion services should be provided in NI, First Minister Arlene Foster has said.

Major changes to NI's abortion laws came into force at the end of March.

However, the Department of Health has yet to put the regulations into practice.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-52190465

New abortion laws for Northern Ireland comes into force

New abortion laws for Northern Ireland comes into force
The new regulations will allow terminations in Northern Ireland for the first 12 weeks

By Shaun Keenan
31 MAR 2020

Newly published regulations on abortion services in Northern Ireland will come into force on Tuesday. MPs in Westminster passed the changes to abortion last year in the absence of a power sharing assembly at Stormont.

The new regulations will allow terminations in Northern Ireland on request for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 24 weeks in cases of a risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or girl.

Continued: https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/new-abortion-laws-northern-ireland-18011806

N.Ireland – Efforts to bring abortion to North ‘insidious,’ says Foster

Efforts to bring abortion to North ‘insidious,’ says Foster
DUP leader says renewed effort to bring in same sex marriage likely to succeed

July 21, 2019
Gerry Moriarty

Efforts to bring in abortion legislation through the Northern Ireland Bill currently making its way through Westminster were “insidious”, the DUP leader Arlene Foster said on Sunday.

Under the Bill, same sex marriage and a more liberal abortion regime would be introduced to Northern Ireland unless the Northern Executive and Assembly, which has been suspended for more than two-and-a-half years, was restored by October 21st this year.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/efforts-to-bring-abortion-to-north-insidious-says-foster-1.3963079

UK – Stella Creasy’s abortion law campaign showed practical politics at its best

Stella Creasy’s abortion law campaign showed practical politics at its best
Courteous, attentive and largely free of partisan posturing, the debate on Northern Ireland’s law was a triumph of cross-party collaboration

Helen Lewis
Sun 10 Jun 2018

The most striking moment in politics last week was not David Davis’s fifth (unfulfilled) threat to resign. Nor was it Boris Johnson’s latest (unpunished) violation of collective responsibility. It wasn’t even the spectacle of hours of intense cabinet psychodrama finally resulting in a customs proposal that was instantly shot down by the EU’s chief negotiator. In Brexitland, a lot happens – but very little changes.

No, the week’s most interesting political event came late on Monday, when the Speaker, John Bercow, asked if he had “the leave of the House” to grant Labour backbencher Stella Creasy an emergency debate on Northern Irish abortion law. In silence, the vast majority of the MPs present in the Commons stood up – and the debate was granted. Supporters of the motion included the new minister for women, Penny Mordaunt, and Karen Bradley, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/10/stella-creasy-abortion-law-campaign-practical-politics-at-its-best