Northern Ireland’s Human Right Commission To Review Abortion Ban

[niyad]

Northern Ireland’s Human Right Commission To Review Abortion Ban


The Human Rights Commission (HRC) in Northern Ireland won its call for a judicial review on the region’s restrictive abortion law.





The High Court in Belfast ruled that the HRC could seek a review of current law. Abortion in Northern Ireland is currently illegal in all cases except when a pregnant person’s life is at risk or when there is the risk of permanent or serious damage to the pregnant person’s mental or physical health.

The HRC is asking for a change in the law to allow for abortions in the case of incest, rape, or “serious malformation” of the fetus. “Given the vulnerability of women and girls in these situations,” the HRC said, “the commission considers it appropriate to use its powers and bring this legal challenge in its own name.”

Northern Ireland’s abortion law differs from the rest of the United Kingdom due to the fact that the 1967 Abortion Act was never extended to Northern Ireland. An attempt to extend the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland was shut down in 2000 when the majority of the Northern Ireland Assembly voted against it.

http://feminist.org/blog/index.php/2015/02/03/northern-ireland-to-review-restrictive-abortion-law/