On Thursday, 29 June, the British Government announced that, from now on, it was going to “finance abortions in England for women from Northern Ireland”.
As legislation in Northern Ireland authorises abortion only in cases where the mother’s life is in danger, some women have travelled to England for an abortion. They have had to pay for the cost of the procedure unlike British women who have access to abortion free of charge.
Furthermore, “fearing a Parliamentary revolt and given the delicate position following its agreement with the ultra-conservative DUP[1]“, the British Government decided to pay for abortions for women from Northern Ireland as it does for British women.
Note from Gènéthique:
This decision has been taken when the United Kingdom Supreme Court just gave a ruling in a case: United Kingdom: the Supreme Court rejects free abortion for Northern Ireland.
[1] Northern Ireland Conservative Party against abortion.
Sciences et avenir (29/06/2017)