Abortion: DUP bill to stop terminations for non-fatal disabilities rejected

By Jayne McCormack, BBC News NI political correspondent
Dec 14, 2021

A DUP bill to prevent abortions in Northern Ireland in cases of non-fatal disabilities has effectively fallen after a tight vote at Stormont.

Assembly members (MLAs) voted by 45 to 42 to reject the principles of the bill after its consideration stage debate.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-59660274


Sinn Féin welcomes call for progress on Northern Ireland abortion services

DUP and Ulster Unionist opposition to 2019 legislation is ‘shameful and disgraceful’, says Michelle O’Neill

Lisa O'Carroll
Thu 28 Oct 2021

Sinn Féin has welcomed a demand by the British government for progress on the introduction of abortion services in Northern Ireland, as the party denounced Democratic Unionist opposition to the provisions as “shameful and disgraceful”.

Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, Michelle O’Neill, accused the DUP and the Ulster Unionist party of trying to reverse legislation imposed by Westminster in 2019, which provided for terminations in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/28/sinn-fein-welcomes-mps-call-for-progress-on-northern-ireland-abortion-services


Northern Ireland Office may directly instruct trusts to offer abortion services

Exclusive: Brandon Lewis warns he will soon have ‘no alternative but to take further steps’ to ensure services are provided

Jessica Elgot Chief political correspondent
Wed 27 Oct 2021

Brandon Lewis could override the Northern Ireland executive and directly instruct the nation’s health trusts to provide abortion services, warning leaders in a leaked letter that the continued delay is unacceptable conduct in public office.

The Northern Ireland secretary wrote to the first minister, Paul Givan, and his deputy, Michelle O’Neill, warning he would soon “have no alternative but to take further steps to ensure that women and girls have access to abortion services as decided by parliament, and to which they have a right”.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2021/oct/27/northern-ireland-office-may-directly-instruct-trusts-to-offer-abortion-services


Abortion protests take place in Belfast amid deepening political row

Pro-choice councillor says any move to block rollout of services is ‘against democracy’

July 31, 2021

Pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners have held separate protests in Belfast amid the deepening political row over the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.

The small-scale demonstrations in the city centre came after DUP First Minister Paul Givan threatened to block the British government’s move to formally direct Stormont to fully roll out abortion services in the region.

Continued: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/abortion-protests-take-place-in-belfast-amid-deepening-political-row-1.4636154


Northern Ireland’s new First Minister vows to block rollout of abortion services

Sam Courtney-Guy
Friday 30 Jul 2021

Northern Ireland’s recently-appointed First Minister has vowed to resist the introduction of abortion services in the six counties.

Laws making abortion a criminal offence in Northern Ireland were abolished in 2019 as a result of a bill passed by MPs in Westminster.

Continued: https://metro.co.uk/2021/07/30/northern-ireland-abortion-paul-givan-vows-to-stop-rollout-of-services-15012513/


UK Government Will Force Northern Ireland To Implement Abortion Services “Sooner Rather Than Later”

Adam Payne
19 June 2021

Brandon Lewis has warned Stormont he is running out patience over its failure to implement abortion services in Northern Ireland and will not wait much longer to intervene.

The secretary of state for Northern Ireland told PoliticsHome that while he wanted to give the Executive and Assembly "space" to roll out abortion services, he was "not going to wait very long".

Continued: https://www.politicshome.com/news/article/brandon-lewis-abortion-northern-ireland-provision


BBC’s ‘Three Families’ Shows How the Fight For Abortion Rights in the UK Continues

Sian Norris
14 May 2021

The BBC drama
Three Families told the story of the fight to decriminalise abortion in
Northern Ireland from the perspectives of three women, all based on real-life
stories.

The first focused on a mother who faced criminal prosecution for purchasing
abortion pills online for her 15-year-old daughter who was in an abusive
relationship. The second followed a woman whose baby had a fatal foetal
abnormality but was still forced to carry it to term. The final woman’s baby
also had a fatal foetal abnormality. She died in the womb and the mother was
induced.

Continued: https://bylinetimes.com/2021/05/14/bbcs-three-families-misses-the-point-that-fight-for-abortion-rights-in-the-uk-continues/


Westminster steps in after Northern Ireland fails to comply with abortion law change – how it happened

April 1, 2021
Claire Pierson

Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019. In March the following year, the legal framework was in place to provide terminations. A year later, though, it hasn’t happened. The Department of Health in Northern Ireland hasn’t provided a clear plan to commission permanent abortion services that would ensure provision would be budgeted for and available throughout all of Northern Ireland.

Now Westminster has had to intervene to ensure women in Northern Ireland can access abortion services they are legally entitled to. Abortions can be carried out in all circumstances up to week 12 of pregnancy, until week 24 if continuing the pregnancy would risk injury to the woman’s physical or mental health, and without a time limit in cases of severe or fatal foetal abnormality or risk to the life of the pregnant woman.

Continued: https://theconversation.com/westminster-steps-in-after-northern-ireland-fails-to-comply-with-abortion-law-change-how-it-happened-158239


Abortion in Northern Ireland: at the interface between politics and law

22 March 2021
by Anurag Deb, UK Human Rights Blog

Abortion reform in Northern Ireland has had a fraught history, to say the least. Matters appeared to finally come to a head when in 2019, the UK Parliament enacted the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2019 (2019 Act), which created a duty on the Secretary of State to implement abortion reform by following the report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination of Women (CtteEDAW). Nearly two years and two statutory instruments later, Stormont finds itself mired in fresh controversy as long-term abortion facilities in Northern Ireland have yet to be commissioned. So the obvious question arises: what happened?

Continued: https://ukhumanrightsblog.com/2021/03/22/abortion-in-northern-ireland-at-the-interface-between-politics-and-law/


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