UK government to accelerate abortion services delivery in Northern Ireland

Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
·2 min read
<span>Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP</span>
Photograph: Peter Morrison/AP

Legislation will bypass local authorities that have delayed the rollout of services


The UK government has announced plans to accelerate the delivery of abortion services in Northern Ireland almost three years after they were legalised in the region.

Brandon Lewis, the secretary of state for Northern Ireland, told parliament on Thursday he was introducing legislation to bypass local authorities who had delayed the rollout of services.

The new regulations will remove the need for Northern Ireland’s Department of Health to seek approval from the Stormont executive to provide services. “Women and girls are still unable to access high-quality abortion and post-abortion care in Northern Ireland. This is entirely unacceptable,” Lewis said in a written ministerial statement.

The regulations are designed to override the Stormont executive, where the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) has led resistance to abortion services, and give the secretary of state the same power as the region’s health minister to deliver the services.

The Department of Health would have no further barriers to commission and fund services and should do so without delay, said Lewis. “If the Department of Health does not commission and fund abortion services as directed, I will intervene further.”

Related: Abortion services in Northern Ireland almost nonexistent despite legalisation

Abortion was legalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019, bringing it into line with the rest of the UK, after a Westminster vote led by the Labour MP Stella Creasy. Access to abortion has been available since April 2020 after the legislation came into force but has been largely restricted to early medical terminations up to 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Most people in Northern Ireland supported decriminalisation, but Robin Swann, the Ulster Unionist health minister, declined to commission services, saying such a step required consensus in the five-party power-sharing executive, and the DUP was opposed. Some other parties also fear upsetting socially conservative supporters.

The UK government had told Stormont to commission services by March. The deadline came and went, prompting a clamour for action from abortion rights groups.

“This is a welcome and necessary move,” said Grainne Teggart, campaigns manager for Amnesty International UK. “Once again, action from Westminster is needed to ensure that abortion rights are realised here. Commissioned services, accessible to all who need them, are long overdue.”

Ruairi Rowan, director of advocacy and policy for Informing Choices NI, said interim services were “precarious” and that they denied timely access to counselling and funding.

  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next
  • Up next

Latest Stories

  • Low scores the norm on Thursday at the Zurich Classic

    Zurich's Fourball format drops scores faster than oysters and beers go down on Bourbon Street.

  • Brighton vs Man City LIVE: Premier League team news as Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden start for visitors

    Pep Guardiola’s men can close the gap on Arsenal at the top of the table

  • NFL draft attendees down for 3rd straight year. J.J. McCarthy among those who didn't go to Detroit

    There's no place Drake Maye would rather be. When the NFL invited the former North Carolina quarterback to attend the draft in Detroit, he had a quick answer. “I think you always dream about coming here and coming to walk across the stage and be with the commissioner," Maye said.

  • Toll Brothers (TOL) Continued to Grow in the First Quarter

    Baron Funds, an investment management company, released its “Baron Real Estate Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the same can be downloaded here. The fund had a strong performance in the quarter and generated a gain of 8.28% (Institutional Shares). The Fund beat both the MSCI US REIT Index (the REIT Index), […]

  • Native American tribes want US appeals court to weigh in on $10B SunZia energy transmission project

    Native American tribes and environmentalists want a U.S. appeals court to weigh in on their request to halt construction along part of a $10 billion transmission line that will carry wind-generated electricity from New Mexico to customers as far away as California. The disputed stretch of the SunZia Transmission line is in southern Arizona’s San Pedro Valley. The tribes and others argue that the U.S. Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management failed to recognize the cultural significance

  • Roma beats Udinese 2-1 in resumption of suspended match to ruin Cannavaro's Serie A coaching debut

    UDINE, Italy (AP) — Bryan Cristante scored in stoppage time and Roma made its second trip this month to Udinese worthwhile with a 2-1 win in the resumption of a suspended Serie A match Thursday that entailed playing only the final 18 minutes. The score was 1-1 on April 14 when Roma defender Evan Ndicka collapsed and the match was suspended. Ndicka was released from the hospital a day later with a collapsed left lung and has since been cleared to return to training. Roberto Pereyra had scored for

  • Police Detain Protesters and Work to Clear Encampment at Atlanta's Emory University

    Police officers were seen detaining several protesters and trying to clear the Gaza encampment at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, on Thursday, April 25, amid reports of multiple arrests.Video from Atlanta-based outlet 285 South shows officers detaining several people, as onlookers shout “let them go!”The university’s student-run outlet reported that Atlanta police, Emory police, and the Georgia State Patrol used gas and arrested demonstrators, some of whom were reportedly also protesting the city’s controversial “Cop City” training center. Storyful has not independently verified that gas was deployed.The university’s philosophy department chair was among those detained, according to video posted by a reporter for Atlanta News First.Storyful has reached out to Atlanta police, Emory police, and the Georgia State Patrol for comment. Credit: 285 South via Storyful

  • First ship passes through new channel alongside Baltimore bridge wreckage and stranded Dali

    After 33 days waiting in the port of Baltimore, Balsa 94 has become the first cargo ship to leave through a temporary channel after the Baltimore bridge collapse

  • Trump loses latest bid for new E Jean Carroll defamation trial

    ‘Contrary to the defendant’s arguments, Ms Carroll’s compensatory damages were not awarded solely for her emotional distress,’ Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote

  • Nvidia, Arista, Dell, Super Micro Rise On Meta's AI Capex Plan

    Meta's plan to boost AI spending lifted shares of hardware companies, including Nvidia, Arista, Dell and Super Micro.

  • Meta is spending more on AI: Where the money is going

    According to company filings, Meta (META) will boost its full-year capital expenditures to a range of $35 to 40 billion, which was more than what some analysts expected. In a statement from the company, Meta plans to "invest aggressively to support our ambitious AI research and product development efforts.” Yahoo Finance Tech Editor Dan Howley joins Wealth! to break down Meta's capital expenditures into AI and more. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Wealth! This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino

  • UPDATE 1-Crypto firm Consensys sues US SEC over Ethereum regulation

    Consensys has filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) tied to the regulation of the Ethereum blockchain, the crypto firm said on Thursday. The regulation of the industry has become a contentious issue as the sector's biggest companies, including Coinbase Global, allege the SEC does not have jurisdiction on the grounds that crypto tokens are not securities. The U.S. markets watchdog has been "attempting to unlawfully regulate ether through ad hoc enforcement actions against Consensys and possibly others," Consensys complaint alleged.

  • 'Uncommitted' organizers will join campus protesters in Michigan over Gaza

    Organizers behind the "uncommitted" political movement against President Joe Biden's staunch support for Israel's war against Hamas will travel to the University of Michigan's campus on Thursday to join students protesting the war. Student protests in the U.S. over the war in Gaza have intensified and expanded over the past week after police first arrested students at Columbia, with so-called Gaza solidarity encampments established at colleges, including Yale, and New York University. Uncommitted organizers will travel to the University of Michigan's Ann Arbor campus, they told Reuters, bringing together a political movement that's disrupted Biden events and amassed hundreds of thousands of votes in Democratic primaries and a student movement that's drawn students and faculty of various backgrounds.

  • Mariska Hargitay Condemns Harvey Weinstein's 'Infuriating' Overturned Conviction: It's 'Incorrigible'

    Weinstein's 2020 convictions in New York State have since been overturned, marking the reversal of a major #MeToo era victory

  • 'Superhero' Childhood Cancer Patients Answer the Question: Cape or No Cape?

    The survey was taken ahead of National Superhero Day on April 28

  • Planned Parenthood announces $10 million voter campaign in North Carolina for 2024 election

    Abortion continues to be a key part of Democrats' election playbook in North Carolina, which for 2024 will include what abortion-rights advocates call an unprecedented investment in get-out-the-vote efforts. Planned Parenthood affiliated groups in North Carolina announced on Thursday a $10 million campaign in the state that largely focuses on persuading people concerned about narrowing abortion access to vote in November. The spend, according to representatives for Planned Parenthood Votes and Planned Parenthood Action PAC North Carolina, attempts to end both a GOP supermajority at the General Assembly that enacted new abortion limits last year and to defeat Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, who wants the law to become more restrictive.

  • New policies will provide long-term help with property tax spike in Lexington, Fayette | Opinion

    OpEd: In Lexington, there is a distinct connection between land use policies and the cost of housing.

  • Donna Kelce Says ‘Gracious’ Sons Travis and Jason Help Fuel Her Love for Travel: They ‘Allow Me to Do That’ (Exclusive)

    The NFL stars’ mom told PEOPLE that “going off to really fun spots in the world” is one of her passions

  • Walk For Alzheimer’s aims to raise $120,000 for York Region and growing needs

    More than 17,000 York Region residents are currently living with dementia – and this number is expected to double in less than a decade. As such, the services provided by the Alzheimer Society of York Region are needed now more than ever before. On Saturday, May 25, you can lace up and help support these valuable programs through the IG Wealth Management Walk for Alzheimer’s. Set to take place at 8 a.m. at Lake Wilcox Park (12895 Bayview Avenue), this year’s walk aims to raise $125,000 to suppor

  • Replace the Miami Seaquarium with a real aquarium to make us proud | Opinion

    Herald readers write what’s on their mind.