May 7, 2026
Maria McCann, North east reporter, BBC News NI
A retired pastor has said it is a "very dark day for Christian freedom" after being found guilty of breaching abortion buffer zone laws by preaching biblical verses near a hospital.
Clive Johnston, 78, from Melmount Road, Sion Mills in County Tyrone, held an open-air service in a safe access zone within the vicinity of Causeway Hospital on 7 July 2024.
March 15, 2026
Lyndsey Telford, BBC News NI
A schoolgirl who was wrongly sent from Northern Ireland to England for a termination was traumatised by the ordeal, her mother has said.
She said the 18-year-old was forced to wait for a flight home after the procedure while bleeding and cramping.
The teenager was 18 weeks pregnant and could have been treated in Northern Ireland, but was sent to London due to confusion by the booking provider over the services available.
By The Newsroom
4th Jan 2026
A woman currently appealing a conviction for conducting an illegal protest inside a hospital’s ‘safe access zone’ is due to appear in court on fresh charges.
Claire Brennan is due to appear in Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday to be charged with three offences of “doing an act inside a safe access zone” on three specific dates in September, October and November last year.
11 December 2025
Police in Coleraine have charged a woman in her 50s under the Abortion Services (SAZ) Act with three counts of doing an act in a Safe Access Zone.
The charges relate to incidents at Causeway Hospital in Coleraine between Wednesday 3rd September and Wednesday, 19th November.
She is due to appear before Coleraine Magistrates’ Court on Monday, 5th January. As is procedure, all charges will be reviewed by the Public Prosecution Service.
Nov 4, 2025
Claire Quinn, BBC News NI
A TUV amendment to a new bill on baby loss certificates, which would add specific language to include women who have had abortions, has been defeated.
The amendment which was described as "callous", by an Alliance MLA, received 53 no votes and 23 votes for.
Currently in Northern Ireland, the death of a baby after 24 weeks is officially recorded as a stillbirth but there is no formal recognition of loss before 24 weeks, as there is in England.
MPs missed a chance to remove the threat of prosecution from anyone helping families make decisions about their own lives. With the far right on the march, it’s time to defend our rights.
By Emma Campbell
June 28, 2025
Campaigners were celebrating last week as the UK parliament took the first step to defend reproductive rights. But, as an abortion activist working here in Belfast, I was frustrated at a lack of willingness to fix the problems with the amendment. Even if it becomes law, the work that I do every day helping people here in Northern Ireland would still see me facing criminal charges if I did it in England and Wales.
I’ve been fighting for reproductive rights for 15 years and helping people access abortions much longer. When we started talking about removing the threat of prosecution from people making decisions about their lives and their families, non-governmental organisations around us were convinced we would never change the law in our lifetime. But when we’re striving for change we need hopeful imagination.
Continued: https://goodlawproject.org/emma-campbell-we-deserve-five-star-reproductive-rights/
Clive Johnston disputes the charges on a devolution point and under the European Convention on Human Rights
Paul Higgins
Fri Mar 21 2025
A retired church pastor on Friday denied conducting an illegal protest at an abortion safe access zone in a Coleraine hospital.
Appearing on behalf of Clive Johnston at Coleraine Magistrates Court, defence counsel Aaron Thompson entered pleas of not guilty to the two charges on behalf of the 76-year-old retired pastor, revealing that the defendant disputes the charges on a devolution point and under article 9 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
Lauren Harte
Sat 1 February 2025
The Department of Health has released new figures detailing the number of abortions carried out in Northern Ireland in the last year.
During 2023/24 there were 2,792 abortions carried out in Northern Ireland, an increase of 28.8% from 2,168 in 2022/23. The majority of these abortions were medical, with only 198 surgical abortions performed.
Continued: https://uk.news.yahoo.com/department-health-reveals-number-abortions-220053081.html
June 20, 2024
There has been an increase in the number of abortions carried out in Northern Ireland, according to the latest official figures.
Statistics from the Department of Health show that in the year since March 2020, when the law was changed to allow terminations, there were almost 1,600 procedures.
That figure then rose to more than 2,100 between April 2022 and March 2023.
The chilling atmosphere of pickets and protests at clinics has given way to a new ‘gold standard’ of care
Rory Carroll, Ireland correspondent
Thu 21 Mar 2024
The family planning advisers at Shaftesbury Square still remember the days of siege when anti-abortion protesters staked out the front and rear entrance of their office in central Belfast.
Some pickets would splash holy water on the doors and daub salt crosses on the pavement while others would thrust leaflets with pictures of babies and foetuses at woman entering or leaving the building, and sometimes follow them.
Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/21/how-northern-ireland-came-to-lead-the-uk-on-abortion
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