NI health bodies call for unrestricted abortion
Legal framework needs to be in place by the end of March
Last updated 5th Feb 2020
Health groups in Northern Ireland are urging policy makers to provide unrestricted abortion access.
Terminations were legalised here in 2019 but the framework is yet to be finalised.
A consultation was launched in 2019 to help shape the new laws and closed just before Christmas.
Karen Murray is from the Royal College of Midwives in Northern Ireland and says a woman should still be able to access terminations, even if she is into the second trimester of her pregnancy:
"These decisions should be based on a clear discussion of all the options and that the woman is a confident and capable individual, able to make decisions based on her own circumstances.
"If we put restrictions on the gestation for abortion, it potentially has a negative impact, particularly on those women in marginalised and vulnerable groups."
Calls from the college are backed by The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists and the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare.
They recommend that any future legal framework for abortion care in Northern Ireland must be based on evidence-based best practice.
The professional groups agree that restricting access to abortion care at arbitrary gestations before 24 weeks will only create barriers for women.
This is particularly true for women who are most vulnerable or disadvantaged – such as victims of domestic or sexual abuse, or who are experiencing social or economic deprivation – who, as a result of their circumstances, are more likely to present at later gestations.
Professor Dame Lesley Regan, Chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists’ Abortion Taskforce, said:
"Just eight women had an abortion in Northern Ireland in 2018/19 but more than 1000 women had to endure long journeys to other parts of the UK to access abortion care, or resort to illegal purchase of abortion medication.
"A new framework to enable our doctors to deliver safe abortion care services within Northern Ireland cannot come soon enough.
"Northern Ireland has a unique opportunity to establish an abortion care service which is safe, legal and compassionate, which sees abortion in the context of women’s sexual and reproductive health, and which is supported by high quality education and access to contraception.
"It is our collective view that in order to provide women with the healthcare they need, abortion should be regulated like any other clinical procedure.
"Women and healthcare professionals should not be threatened with criminal prosecution and women should not need to travel out of their home country to access this care.
"We urge the Government to introduce a legal framework which will allow best-practice care without introducing unnecessary barriers and restrictions.
"We are committed to working with healthcare professionals in Northern Ireland to train and deliver these services."