Relief and sorrow: Reactions after UK government moves on abortion capacity in Northern Ireland

Campaigners and the Catholic Church have given their reactions after the UK government instructed the NI Department of Health to move ahead with providing abortion services in all Trusts across the north of Ireland.

By Brendan McDaid
Dec 5, 2022

The Department of Health said it “acknowledges the legal requirements placed on it by the Secretary of State and has been working closely with the Northern Ireland Office on the planned commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.”

The legal instruction on commissioning and the ring fencing of funding will mean that HSC Trusts will have the “necessary resources to ensure a full range of abortion services will be available in NI, including putting in place the necessary staffing and training required” the statement issued said.

Continued: https://www.derryjournal.com/news/people/relief-and-sorrow-reactions-after-uk-government-moves-on-abortion-capacity-in-northern-ireland-3941645


Funding and politics hit N.Ireland abortion services

by Akshata KAPOOR, AFP
July 4, 2022

Campaigners in Northern Ireland are closely watching US moves to restrict abortion, particularly concerns that women will now have to travel across states for terminations.

Abortion was only decriminalised in the British province in 2019 — 42 years after terminations were made legal up to 24 weeks in most circumstances in the rest of the UK.

Continued: https://www.macaubusiness.com/funding-and-politics-hit-n-ireland-abortion-services/


Women in Northern Ireland Still Struggle to Access Abortion More Than 2 Years After Decriminalization

BY KRISTEN CHICK/BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND
JUNE 30, 2022

When Katie Boyd decided to have an abortion in November, she thought the process would be smooth. She had celebrated when abortion was decriminalized in Northern Ireland two years earlier, in October 2019, and two years on, it seemed logical that abortion care would now be readily available.

Boyd, 40, called a hotline intended to connect those seeking abortion with care, and was told she’d receive a call within five days from a clinic that could provide an early medication abortion. But five days went by with no call. Her follow-up calls begging for direct contact information for the clinic got her nowhere. As the days turned into weeks, Boyd began to panic.

Continued: https://time.com/6192022/northern-ireland-abortion-access/


It isn’t just the US: abortion barriers in Britain are forcing women to travel miles for treatment

In Scotland and Northern Ireland, access to second-trimester abortions still depends on a damaging postcode lottery

Rachel Connolly
Wed 22 Jun 2022

When a draft supreme court decision was leaked in May showing that judges intended to overturn Roe v Wade, many in the UK reacted with outrage. Rightly so: such a law change would leave abortion rules up to individual states. Rights groups estimate that abortion could become illegal in about half the states if this is successful. Americans would be forced to travel to states where it was still legal, or order costly abortion medicine online, risking severe legal consequences by doing so. Overturning Roe v Wade would probably also inspire anti-choice campaign groups to pursue legal action elsewhere in the world.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/jun/22/abortion-hierarchy-uk-lack-of-services-scotland-northern-ireland-england-terminate-pregnancy


Scotland – Anti-abortion charity Stanton Healthcare accused of misleading women

Constance Kampfner, The Times
Saturday February 19 2022

An anti-abortion charity has been accused of masquerading as a pregnancy support centre in an attempt to pressure women into backing out of having terminations.

Stanton International, an American organisation which has been accused of peddling falsehoods about termination including the claim that it causes cancer, is due to open a branch in Edinburgh.

Continued https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/anti-abortion-charity-stanton-healthcare-accused-of-misleading-women-9lr3mdts2


Doctors accused of blocking abortions in Northern Ireland despite legalisation

Doctors accused of blocking abortions in Northern Ireland despite legalisation
Patients forced to buy pills online or go overseas for terminations

Lucy Mansfield
Published on Sat 13 Jun 2020

Women seeking abortions in Northern Ireland are still struggling to access services. Although abortion was legalised more than two months ago, claims persist that healthcare professionals are refusing to treat patients.

A leading reproductive rights group and a doctors’ organisation say that GPs are refusing to refer pregnant women to hospital services so they can access the tablets needed to undergo a medical abortion. They are also aware of midwives and nurses refusing to care for patients before and after the procedure.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/13/doctors-accused-of-blocking-abortions-in-northern-ireland-despite-legalisation


UK – Like Everything Else, Abortion Needs To Change After This

Like Everything Else, Abortion Needs To Change After This

Vicky Spratt
16 April 2020

Was the Health Secretary Matt Hancock gaslighting women in Britain when he allowed draft legislation permitting at-home abortions during the pandemic we’re currently living through to be published and unpublished? We will never know.

In the end, because of a cacophonous campaign from abortion experts at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and Marie Stopes, the government did a u-turn and confirmed that, for as long as this crisis rages on, women will be able to take abortion medication in the safety and comfort of their own home after a telephone consultation with a doctor (also known as telemedicine).

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2020/04/9700087/abortion-law-change-during-coronavirus


Amid COVID-19 pandemic, a landmark week for abortion care access in Northern Ireland

Amid COVID-19 pandemic, a landmark week for abortion care access in Northern Ireland

April 11, 2020
Mary McGill

Belfast — After a chaotic week that saw outcry from pro-choice campaigners and abortion providers on both sides of the Irish Sea, Northern Ireland moved to ensure abortion services will be available during the pandemic. In a statement issued to the media on Thursday, April 9, the region’s Department of Health said medical professionals were now permitted to “terminate pregnancies lawfully.” The statement also claimed that the rollout of abortion services, which were meant to have been legally available beginning March 31, had been impacted by the pandemic and “the urgent need to focus resources on preparing the health and social care system for the surge in cases.”

The government’s decision comes after a tumultuous two weeks in which abortion services were supposed to be operational yet remained inaccessible through Northern Ireland’s health service.

Continued: https://womensmediacenter.com/women-under-siege/amid-covid-19-pandemic-a-landmark-week-for-abortion-care-access-in-northern-ireland


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


‘I’m not a criminal any longer’: Women’s relief as abortion law changes in Northern Ireland

'I’m not a criminal any longer’: Women's relief as abortion law changes in Northern Ireland

By Lauren Chadwick & Orlando Crowcroft
24/10/2019

As Northern Ireland decriminalised abortion on Monday at midnight, pro-choice campaigners marked a new era of openness and freedom in the British province.

Until this week, Northern Ireland had prohibited abortion in all cases except when a mother’s life was at risk, with women and doctors facing sentences up to life in prison under an 1861 law.

Continued: https://www.euronews.com/2019/10/24/i-m-not-a-criminal-any-longer-women-s-relief-as-abortion-law-changes-in-northern-ireland