N. Ireland – Supreme Court says bill to ban anti-abortion protests at clinics is lawful

Dec 7, 2022
By Jayne McCormack, BBC News NI political correspondent

A bill to ban anti-abortion protests at Northern Ireland health clinics does not "disproportionately interfere" with protesters' rights, the Supreme Court has ruled.

Former assembly member Clare Bailey developed the bill to set up so-called safe access zones outside clinics where abortions are carried out.

It was voted through the assembly in March by a majority of parties. It was delayed from becoming law after the attorney general intervened.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-63886414

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

27.10.2021

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Abortion in NI: Westminster directs Stormont to set up services

By Jayne McCormack, BBC News NI political correspondent
July 22, 2021

Westminster has directed Stormont's Department of Health to set up full abortion services in Northern Ireland by no later than next March.

The government has intervened with a formal direction requiring Stormont to act.

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-57921537

Right for UK Government to intervene on NI abortion services – O’Neill

David Young, PA
Mon, 19 July 2021

The UK Government is right to intervene to ensure the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill has said.

The Sinn Fein deputy First Minister’s comments came ahead of an anticipated announcement from Secretary of State Brandon Lewis this week on the ongoing stand-off over the rollout of services in the region.

Continued: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/uk-government-intervene-ni-abortion-151534373.html

19.07.2021

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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

The Reality of Abortion in Northern Ireland

Consistent vetoes have blocked the power-sharing government from passing abortion reform in Northern Ireland.

By Julia Canney
Jun 18, 2021

In April, the UK House of Commons formally approved a new directive requiring Northern Ireland’s Department of Health to take “concrete steps” to ensure full abortion services in the north before summer. The directive, which came after years of pressure from inside and outside the north, is the result of the Northern Ireland executive’s delay in commissioning services that were formally decriminalized in 2019.

It is time for Northern Ireland’s secretary of state, Brandon Lewis, to ensure that reproductive rights in the north are safe, legal and accessible to all who need them. The complicated politics of Northern Ireland have led to this dilemma of jurisdiction. The House of Commons was able to decriminalize abortion services in the north specifically because there was no sitting Northern Ireland executive in Stormont. However, now that there has been a sitting government in Stormont for over a year, many are calling for an end to the executive’s stall tactics.

Continued: https://www.fairobserver.com/region/europe/julia-canney-northern-ireland-abortion-rights-ireland-news-irish-abortion-news-23840/