Abortion Laws In Northern Ireland: What's The Status?

Abortion laws in Northern Ireland have been a contentious issue for decades. Until 2019, Northern Ireland had some of the strictest abortion laws in the world, with terminations only allowed if the mother's life was at risk or if there was a risk of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health. This meant that women from Northern Ireland seeking abortions in other circumstances often had to travel to England.

In 2019, a vote led by Labour MP Stella Creasy decriminalised abortion in Northern Ireland, bringing it into line with the rest of the UK. The new laws permit abortions in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy for any reason, and beyond that in other cases, including no term limit in cases of fatal foetal abnormality.

However, despite these progressive laws, the rollout of abortion services in Northern Ireland has been slow, and women continue to struggle to access abortions. The Department of Health has not commissioned abortion services, leaving healthcare workers to provide care on an ad-hoc basis without funding or training. This has resulted in a postcode lottery for abortion services, with some health trusts providing only limited services or none at all.

Abortion services in Northern Ireland

Abortion is permitted in Northern Ireland in many circumstances up to 24 weeks, which is more permissive than in other parts of the UK. In some areas, abortion pills are available for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy. However, the region's health trust does not provide abortion pills by post.

Abortions can be carried out by registered medical professionals, including doctors, nurses, and midwives. Professionals may object to performing a termination on conscientious grounds unless it is necessary to save the pregnant woman's life or prevent serious permanent physical or mental injury.

The Abortion Act 1967

The Act allowed for abortions to be carried out by registered medical practitioners if two registered medical practitioners agreed that there was a risk to the life of the pregnant woman, or of harm to her physical or mental health, or that of her family, if the pregnancy were to continue. It also allowed for abortions if there was a substantial risk that the child, if born, would be "seriously handicapped".

The Act did not initially apply to Northern Ireland, where abortion was only permitted in limited cases. It was only in 2019, following a Westminster vote, that abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland, bringing it into line with the rest of the UK. The Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 were introduced in 2020, allowing for abortions in Northern Ireland in several circumstances, including if there was a risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman within 24 weeks of pregnancy, or if there was a severe or fatal foetal abnormality.

The Offences Against the Person Act 1861

The Act created two offences related to abortion:

• Administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion (Section 58): This offence was punishable by a sentence of life imprisonment.
• Procuring drugs, or any other means, to cause abortion (Section 59): This offence was punishable by a sentence of three years' imprisonment.

These sections of the Act were repealed in Northern Ireland in 2019 by the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act, which amended the law on abortion in the region. The repeal of these sections removed the criminal offence of attempting to cause a miscarriage and brought Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK, where abortion is permitted under certain circumstances.

The Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945

Section 25 of the Act creates the offence of child destruction, stating that:

> [A]ny person who, with intent to destroy the life of a child then capable of being born alive, by any wilful act causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother, shall be guilty of felony, to wit, of child destruction...

This section also provides a defence of acting in good faith to preserve the life of the mother. The offence supplements the offence of abortion (under the Offences against the Person Act 1861), which deals with unborn children not capable of being born alive.

> [N]o person shall [...] take or attempt to take in any court any photograph, or with a view to publication make or attempt to make in any court any portrait or sketch of any person, being a judge of the court or a juror or a witness in or a party to any proceedings before the court, whether civil or criminal...

The Act has been amended numerous times, with the latest changes being made in April 2024.

The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929

The Act states that a person who, with the intent to destroy the life of a child capable of being born alive, causes a child to die before it has an existence independent of its mother, shall be guilty of felony, to wit, of child destruction, and shall be liable on conviction on indictment to penal servitude for life.

The Act further provides that no person shall be found guilty of an offence if it is proved that the act which caused the child's death was done in good faith for the purpose of preserving the mother's life. For the purposes of this Act, a child whose mother has been pregnant for 28 weeks is deemed capable of being born alive.

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