Legal challenge over abortion services in Northern Ireland to start

By PA

A legal challenge against the Secretary of State and Stormont over the failure to commission and fund abortion services in Northern Ireland will start later.

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission is taking Brandon Lewis, as well as the Northern Ireland Executive and the region’s Department of Health to the High Court for a case which is expected to be heard over two days.

Abortion laws in Northern Ireland were liberalised in 2019 following legislation passed by Westminster at a time when the power sharing government in the region was collapsed.

A legal challenge against the Secretary of State and Stormont over the failure to commission and fund abortion services in Northern Ireland will start later.https://t.co/VNdgoRTioK

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) May 26, 2021

However while individual health trusts have been offering services on an ad-hoc basis, the regulations were brought forward as the Department of Health had yet to centrally commission the services on a region-wide basis.

Last month the House of Commons formally approved regulations which enable Mr Lewis to take action on rolling out abortion services in Northern Ireland.

(A legal challenge against Mr Lewis will begin at the High Court later today)

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission’s case today supports a woman who was affected by the lack of commissioning of services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

She has been granted anonymity by the court.

Chief commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission Les Allamby said the legal action is to ensure access to abortion services.

“The Commission believes that the failure of the NI Executive and Department of Health to enable the funding and commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland breaches the European Convention on Human Rights,” he said.

“We are disappointed at having to take legal action again, however, whilst women’s and girls’ human rights continue to be violated we will continue to challenge the law and practice in Northern Ireland.

“We would like to thank the woman who has bravely supported this case and shared her story to help further women and girls from having to go through such experiences in the future.”

(Abortion laws in Northern Ireland were liberalised in 2019 following legislation passed by Westminster at a time when the power sharing government in the region was collapsed.)

Meanwhile, anti-abortion campaign group are staging a protest at the High Court over the challenge to provision of services.

Bernadette Smyth, director of Precious Life, says that abortion reform, to bring the law in line with the rest of the United Kingdom, was "forced" on Northern Irish people.

She said: he hypocrisy of the Human Rights Commission must be exposed. Their legal action is a direct threat to the most basic and fundamental human right of all - the right to life. Without it, all other rights are meaningless.

“Every person in Northern Ireland - born and unborn - must have the right to life. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states '...every child has the inherent right to life...the child...needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth."

(Bernadette Smyth has said her group will try to overturn abortion reform in Northern Ireland)