N. Ireland – Police escorted girl (12) to England for abortion after assault, MPs told

Police escorted girl (12) to England for abortion after assault, MPs told

By Michael McHugh
January 26 2019

A 12-year-old victim of sexual assault in Northern Ireland had to travel to England under police escort for an abortion, MPs have been told.

An officer seized samples from the procedure as evidence, said Dawn Purvis, former director of the Marie Stopes pregnancy advice service in Belfast.

The child could not be treated in Northern Ireland due to strict laws prohibiting the procedure in most circumstances.

Continued: https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/police-escorted-girl-12-to-england-for-abortion-after-assault-mps-told-37750064.html

Ireland – ‘Growing number’ of GPs sign up for abortion service

'Growing number' of GPs sign up for abortion service

Eilish O'Regan
December 13 2018

The HSE is getting a "steady return" of contracts from GPs applying to provide a medical abortion service from January, it was claimed yesterday.

A HSE spokeswoman said the "number is increasing on a daily basis".

It is still unclear how many GPs will be ready to deliver the service from the start of next month, but potentially several hundred may have signed up.

Continued: https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/health/growing-number-of-gps-sign-up-for-abortion-service-37622054.html

13.12.2018

Health Service Executive

HSE

Imogen Stephens

Marie Stopes

National Maternity Hospital

travelling to England

Woman tweets her journey from Northern Ireland to Liverpool to have an abortion after she was told her baby won’t survive

Woman tweets her journey from Northern Ireland to Liverpool to have an abortion after she was told her baby won’t survive

Laura Abernethy
Tuesday 23 Oct 2018

A woman has tweeted the story of her heartbreaking journey from Northern Ireland to get an abortion in Liverpool after doctors told her that her baby has a rare birth defect that means it would die soon after birth.

Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland, except when there is a ‘real and serious’ physical or mental health risk to the mother. There are no exceptions for cases of fatal foetal abnormality, meaning mothers must carry their baby to full-term and give birth, even if they know it will not survive.

Continued: https://metro.co.uk/2018/10/23/woman-tweets-her-journey-from-northern-ireland-to-liverpool-to-have-an-abortion-after-she-was-told-her-baby-wont-survive-8059826/

Meet the activist who’s helped thousands of Irish women access safe abortions

Meet the activist who’s helped thousands of Irish women access safe abortions

Posted by Moya Crockett
Published Sep 10, 2018

Woman of the Week is Stylist’s weekly celebration of women who are making a difference to society. This week, we meet Mara Clarke, the founder of the Abortion Support Network, to discuss how things have changed since Ireland’s abortion referendum.

Mara Clarke was in Dublin when the results of the Irish abortion referendum were announced. The founder of the Abortion Support Network (ASN) – a grassroots organisation that provides women with advice and financial aid so that they can access safe terminations – desperately hoped abortion would be decriminalised in Ireland. But she didn’t really think it would happen.

“When the exit polls came out, I didn’t believe it,” she says today. “Even when the results were officially announced, I still didn’t believe it. But then everything went crazy.”

Continued: https://www.stylist.co.uk/visible-women/mara-clarke-abortion-support-network-interview-2018-8th-amendment-repeal/226406

Ireland – HSE awards €800,000 contract to set up post-abortion phone helpline

HSE awards €800,000 contract to set up post-abortion phone helpline
Registered charity One Family has won the contract to set up the helpline.

Sep 1, 2018

The HSE has awarded a contract to a counselling service to establish a phone helpline for women experiencing a crisis pregnancy or who have had an abortion. The contract for the service, worth €820,000, was first put out to tender in June of this year.

One Family, the company that has won the contract, is a registered charity specialising in counselling services. It’s not yet known what name the service will be promoted under.

Continued: http://www.thejournal.ie/tender-hse-abortion-helpline-4210592-Sep2018/

01.09.2018

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The New Way People In Northern Ireland Are Campaigning For Abortion Reform

The New Way People In Northern Ireland Are Campaigning For Abortion Reform

Nick Levine
1 September 2018

The dire need for abortion reform in Northern Ireland has become even more pressing since Ireland's historic vote to overturn its abortion ban in May. Pro-choice campaigners say women in Ulster are now treated as "second-class citizens" next to women in Ireland as well as women in the rest of the UK.

It's not difficult to grasp their point. While women in England will soon be able to take an abortion pill at home, and women in Scotland and Wales already can, women in Northern Ireland still face a life sentence for having an abortion.

Continued; https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2018/09/208853/pennypost-alliance-for-choice

Women from North will have access to abortion, pledges Simon Harris

Women from North will have access to abortion, pledges Simon Harris

Ellen Coyne, Senior Ireland Reporter
August 8 2018

Simon Harris has warned the main parties in Northern Ireland that access to abortion won’t stop at the border.

The health minister told the Féile an Phobail event in Belfast last night that he was planning to “ensure” that women in Northern Ireland, where abortion is still banned in almost all circumstances, will be able to access terminations through the Irish health service.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/women-from-north-will-have-access-to-abortion-pledges-simon-harris-nfhw0jsmn

Northern Irish Women’s Abortion Access Will Change In A Huge Way Thanks To The Republic Of Ireland

Northern Irish Women's Abortion Access Will Change In A Huge Way Thanks To The Republic Of Ireland

By Sarah Friedmann
Aug 7, 2018

Back in May of this year, Ireland voted to repeal its highly restrictive abortion ban, allowing many more women the ability to exercise their reproductive rights. However, while abortion did become legal in the Republic of Ireland following the referendum, the procedure remains illegal in Northern Ireland, which is a separate country. Nonetheless, Northern Irish Women's abortion access is still going to improve following the Republic's referendum, as the country has promised to allow women from the North to similarly obtain the procedure.

Continued: https://www.bustle.com/p/northern-irish-womens-abortion-access-will-change-in-a-huge-way-thanks-to-the-republic-of-ireland-10033626

07.08.2018

travelling to England

travelling to Ireland for abortion

UK politicians call for Northern Ireland abortion reforms

UK politicians call for Northern Ireland abortion reforms
Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where abortion is illegal unless pregnancy poses a serious health risk.

22 Jul 2018

More than 170 politicians from the UK and Ireland have signed a letter calling on the UK government to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland.

The cross-party letter, published in UK newspaper The Sunday Times, said the "current situation for women [in Northern Ireland] cannot be ignored or allowed to continue".

Continued: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/07/uk-politicians-call-northern-ireland-abortion-reforms-180722081907466.html

Rise in women travelling from Northern Ireland to England for abortions

Rise in women travelling from Northern Ireland to England for abortions
Campaigners say having different abortion laws on either side of Irish border breaches Good Friday agreement

James Tapper
Sat 21 Jul 2018

The number of women travelling from Northern Ireland to have an abortion in England has jumped dramatically since the government set up a special hotline in March.

A total of 342 women and girls – including at least one 12-year-old – went to England for a termination through the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) in the three months since March: a significant increase on the 190 women who travelled to use the same service in the previous nine months.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/21/women-travelling-from-northern-ireland-to-england-for-abortions