Clinician-Led Transformation of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare in Northern Ireland and The Ongoing Battle for Lasting Abortion Reform Volume 4 - Issue 5

Leanne Morgan¹ and Ralph Roberts²*

• ¹Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
• ²Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, South-eastern Health and Social Care Trust

Received:September 17, 2021Published: October 4, 2021

Corresponding author:Ralph Roberts, Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, South-eastern Health and Social Care Trust, UK

DOI: 10.32474/IGWHC.2021.04.000197

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Abstract

Recent legal changes restricting abortion in Texas have focused attention on the continuing issue of a lack of reproductive freedom for women. This affects women in many countries throughout the world including Northern Ireland. The 1967 Abortion Act, which established legal access to abortion in the rest of the United Kingdom (UK), never applied in Northern Ireland (NI). Prior to a recent change in the law, abortion was illegal in NI with the exception of very limited circumstances. The options for women were either to continue with the pregnancy, travel to services in Great Britain or to access abortion pills from the internet. The choices available to NI women have increased since the decriminalization of abortion on 22 October 2020, following the passing of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2019. However, despite this liberalization of the legislation, abortion services are yet to be commissioned. It is for this reason that the Northern Ireland Abortion and Contraception Task group (NIACT) continues to lobby politicians, policymakers, and commissioners on the issue of commissioning.

Abstract| Northern Ireland Abortion and Contraception Task group| Implementation of Early Medical Abortion Services - An Emergency Response to the Covid-19 Pandemic| Early Medical Abortion Services Data| Current provision| Future Challenges| Conclusion| References|