The strict policy on the provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland won’t be changing in the short term, despite the ruling last month by Mr Justice Mark Horner advising that the current procedures were incompatible with human rights laws.
Horner followed up from his statement last month, stating that the onus was now on the government at Stormont to decide how they would proceed following his ruling.
The Belfast Telegraph reports: “Mr Justice Horner held that an alternative of widening the scope of permitted terminations to include cases of fatal foetal abnormalities or those resulting from sex crimes would be “a step too far”.”
The issue is a highly controversial one, and it is unlikely to be resolved before the end of the assembly this coming May.
Currently, in Northern Ireland abortions are only allowed in cases where there is a serious risk to the mother’s mental and physical health or a risk to her life, but many are campaigning for abortion rights to be rolled out to those affected by fatal foetal abnormality, or victims of rape or incest.
