Alliance Call For Immediate Action On Abortion

An Alliance MLA has called for immediate UK Government action on abortion.

Paula Bradshaw's comments come after the House of Commons Women and Equalities Committee highlighted the confusion and lack of clarity around the legality of abortion in Northern Ireland.

The report said the political statement in the region, which has been ongoing since January 2017, means there is no devolved government to respond to developments, no scrutiny bodies to ensure policies are running well and no monitoring of UK Government funds for women and girls travelling to England for an abortion.

It also highlighted a failure to respond to international human rights obligations, with a UN Committee finding "grave" and "systematic" breaches of women's rights.

The south Belfast MLA said the matter should be addressed by the UK Government, regardless of the state of the devolved administration.

"The UK Government needs to rectify the nonsense that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission can only take cases if there is a victim. We need to hear from the Secretary of State immediately on the timeline for action so this will be rectified by the end of the summer."


Ms Bradshaw continued: "We also need clarity from the Government Equalities Office that referring women to a funded scheme to access abortion provision where they choose, as UK or Irish citizens, is not unlawful, and to ensure from the Attorney General guidance, similar to the guidance on social security, to state it is not in the public interest to prosecute survivors of rape or incest nor any professionals treating them. There must also be clarity of a doctor's absolute duty of confidentiality to patients. 


"In addition, the Government should set out a timeline for meeting the requirements of the report of the Working Group on Fatal Foetal Abnormality as commissioned by Northern Ireland Ministers. In my view, as this is a human rights issue and has clearly now been found legally and politically to be so, this includes legislating by the end of the year in the event that there is no devolved local legislature. 


"The Government also needs to set a clear timeline for meeting all the requirements of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in Northern Ireland in general, in the same circumstances.

"I trust this report will serve a useful purpose in ensuring there is fair treatment for women across the UK and Ireland, and that discrimination by jurisdiction swiftly becomes a thing of the past."



(JG/MH)