LONDON: The abortion debate has returned to haunt Northern Ireland with the Human Rights Commission of the country taking the government to court on Wednesday challenging the near-blanket ban on the procedure.
The commission announced it would take the government in Belfast to the high court over its refusal to reform the abortion law.
The region is the only part of the UK where the 1967 Abortion Act does not apply. Because of this, thousands of women from Northern Ireland seeking abortions have to leave the province for terminations in Britain.
The Commission said it “is seeking a change in the law so that women and girls in Northern Ireland have the choice of accessing a termination of pregnancy in circumstances of serious malformation of the foetus, rape or incest”. It added “International law has undergone significant development in recent years. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women last year confirmed the requirement that access to termination of pregnancy be made available in Northern Ireland in circumstances of serious malformation of the foetus, rape or incest. Since April 2013 we have repeatedly advised the Department of Justice (DOJ) that the existing law is, in the Commission’s view, a violation of human rights. The Commission has initiated legal proceeding on this matter as a last resort”.
“Given the potential vulnerability of women and girls in these situations, it is appropriate that we have used our powers to bring this challenge,” the commission said.
Termination of pregnancy is currently available in Northern Ireland if it is necessary to preserve the life of a woman where there is a risk of a serious and adverse effect on her physical or mental health which is either long term or permanent.
It is unlawful to perform a termination of pregnancy unless on these grounds. The punishment is life imprisonment for anyone who unlawfully performs a termination. Termination of pregnancy based solely on malformation of the foetus is unlawful in Northern Ireland.
In terms of “preserving the life of the pregnant woman” a doctor must be of the opinion on reasonable grounds and with adequate knowledge that the probable consequence of the continuance of the pregnancy will be to make a woman a “physical or mental wreck”.
The Commission is not seeking to introduce the Abortion Act 1967 in Northern Ireland and does not engage this law in this legal challenge. The Commission is seeking a change in the law.
“Since April 2013 we have repeatedly advised the Department of Justice (DOJ) that the existing law violates the human rights of women and girls. The recent consultation published by the DOJ does not commit to making the changes that are necessary in law. It addresses cases of lethal foetal abnormality. It does not deal with serious malformation of foetus. It seeks public opinion public opinion on cases of sexual crime including rape and incest without putting forward proposals to change the law.” The Commission added.
TOI | Dec 11, 2014
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