Anti-abortion group claimed only elected representatives in North should decide on issue
Tue, Feb 8, 2022,
Alan Erwin
The Northern Ireland secretary has the legal authority to direct the establishment of abortion services in the region, a judge as ruled at Belfast High Court.
Mr Justice Colton rejected a challenge by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) to Brandon Lewis’ powers to impose a deadline on Stormont for putting in place a centralised system.
By Jayne McCormack, BBC News NI Political Reporter
May 26, 2021
Delays in implementing Northern Ireland's abortion laws have been a "deeply troubling exercise in finger-pointing", a court has heard.
Abortion became legal in 2020, following a vote by MPs during the collapse of devolution.
Stormont has since been under pressure to establish a permanent, central abortion service, but this has not happened yet.
Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-57248241
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”.
CLAIRE SIMPSON
20 January, 2021
Westminster may intervene over the provision of abortion services in the north, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has said.
Abortion up to 12 weeks into pregnancy has been legal in the north since last year.
MPs voted for a change in the law in 2019, during the hiatus at Stormont.
The London government has warned that it may intervene directly if abortions are not made more freely available in Northern Ireland soon.
By Adam Kula
Wednesday, 20th January 2021
Robin Walker MP, the minister for state for Northern Ireland, made the comments in the House of Commons as he was quizzed about the current law in the Province.
The whole issue dates back to summer 2019.
At that time MPs in Westminster passed a law which said if the Northern Irish devolved government was not restored by late October, then the London government would act to change the law on terminations, bypassing the NI Assembly altogether – a move which outraged anti-abortion groups.
NORTHERN IRELAND – “The North is next” – proposals put forward to try and make this happen
by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
June 1, 2018
As in Ireland up to now, it is almost impossible to get an abortion in Northern Ireland. The most immediate fallout of the Irish referendum results on 26 May was the call from many quarters for Northern Ireland to be next. However, there are complex political realities that will get in the way. The first and most important is that policy on abortion was devolved by the UK Parliament to Northern Ireland and Scotland some years back, as part of changes introduced by the then Labour government to give Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland more local control over a range of issues.
The problem now is that Northern Ireland hasn’t had a functioning government for more than a year, so there is no way it can act. Secondly, there is no guarantee its government would reform the abortion law even if it suddenly got back on its feet. One of the strongest and most reactionary Northern Irish parties, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), is dead set against legalising abortion. Moreover, they currently have a controlling say in the politics of the UK overall, because the Conservative Party does not have a parliamentary majority, and they made a deal with the DUP last year after the election to support them to get unpopular legislation through.
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