A court in
Belfast has upheld a legal challenge to the British territory's restrictive
abortion laws. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the procedure
is banned.
Deutsche Welle, 30 November 2015
After months of deliberation, Judge Mark Horner agreed on Monday that women and girls should be able to access legal terminations in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormalities.
Deutsche Welle, 30 November 2015
Anti-abortion protesters slammed the opening of a private abortion clinic in Northern Ireland in 2012 |
After months of deliberation, Judge Mark Horner agreed on Monday that women and girls should be able to access legal terminations in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormalities.
Judge
Horner said the "rights of women in Northern Ireland who are pregnant with
fatal foetal abnormalities or who are pregnant as a result of sexual crime are
breached" by the current law.
He said
that in cases where a foetus cannot survive outside the womb "there is no
life to protect". He added that prohibiting abortion in cases of assault
"completely ignores the personal circumstances" of innocent victims
of crimes.
Northern
Ireland's Human Rights Commission had filed the legal challenge to the current
law.
No change
yet
Northern
Ireland's Attorney General is to challenge the ruling, local media reported.
Currently,
the law in Northern Ireland only allows abortion where the life or mental
health of the mother is in danger. Doctors in the British territory who perform
abortions outside the limitations face up to life in prison.
Despite the
restrictions, at least one private abortion clinic operates in Belfast.
Northern Ireland: Amnesty welcomes landmark court decision on #abortion law https://t.co/WgV1MsfqCy #MyBodyMyRights pic.twitter.com/fDjGAsWHL2
— Amnesty Int'l NI (@AmnestyNI) November 30, 2015
Monday's
ruling does not change the law and any future reform will have to be debated by
the territory's parliament, where there is significant political opposition.
But Judge
Horner asked parties to consider whether the ruling can be applied under
current legislation.
Ruling
welcomed
Despite the
additional hurdles, Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission hailed what they
called a landmark ruling.
"Today's
result is historic, and will be welcomed by many of the vulnerable women and
girls who have been faced with these situations," the group's chief
commissioner Les Allamby said in a statement.
But
anti-abortion campaigner Bernadette Smyth expressed disappointment, adding that
"we must protect the rights of the unborn child."
Some
analysts believe Monday's ruling will have an impact on the debate in the
Republic of Ireland where the law is just as strict.
A complete
ban on abortion was only lifted in 2013 when terminations were allowed if a
mother's life was in danger.
The
restrictions have meant that thousands of pregnant women travel to British
mainland for abortions each year.
mm/ (AFP, dpa, Reuters)
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