Caoilfhionn Gallagher QC, who is Humanists UK’s barrister in three of the four recent legal cases about abortion in Northern Ireland, and who was awarded Humanist of the Year in 2018 for this work, gave expert legal evidence to the Women and Equalities Committee on abortion rights in Northern Ireland yesterday.
Caoilfhionn called on the UK Government to legislate to grant women in Northern Ireland access to abortion in an evidence session to the Westminster Parliament’s Women and Equalities Committee. Humanists UK has urged the Government to act without delay.
Caoilfhionn of Doughty Street Chambers stated that the UK Government is acting in breach of its international law obligations with respect to abortion law in Northern Ireland, and debunked arguments that abortion should be treated as a devolved issue in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Government, which has been dissolved since January 2017.
Humanists UK has worked with Caoilfhionn to make multiple interventions in legal cases on the matter, including the ongoing Sarah Ewart case about fatal foetal abnormality, the JR76 case about sexual crime and doctor/patient confidentiality, and the NIHRC case on the same themes last year. She has also represented Humanists UK in multiple cases focused on assisted dying in England and Wales.
In the same evidence session, Karen Bradley MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced plans to close the legal loophole that meant that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) was deemed not to have legal standing in its challenge to Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws. This meant that even though the Supreme Court ruled that existing law in Northern Ireland was incompatible with human rights law in cases of fatal foetal abnormality and sexual crime, it could not formally issue a Declaration of Incompatibility, which would have helped force an amendment to the law. In effect, this legal change could pave the way for the NIHRC to launch a another case to challenge Northern Ireland’s abortion law which would likely succeed giving the precedent set by the ruling in June 2018.
Reflecting on Caoilfhionn’s evidence session, and the announcement by Karen Bradley MP, Humanists UK Director of Policy and Public Affairs Richy Thompson said: ‘We and Caoilfhionn agree that the UK Government should act in line with its obligations under international human rights law and take necessary action to reform Northern Ireland’s cruel abortion law.
‘We welcome the Secretary of State’s commitment to grant the NIHRC legal standing for any future abortion cases, but we note that for any change to take place the NIHRC will have to launch another case which can take years. We don’t agree that women should have to wait for their human rights to be met, and therefore urge the UK Government to legislate now to enable women safe and legal access to abortion without delay.’
Notes:
For further comment or information, please contact Humanists UK press manager Casey-Ann Seaniger at casey@humanists.uk or phone 020 7324 3078.
Read more about our intervention in the Sarah Ewart case: https://humanists.uk/2019/02/01/humanists-uk-intervenes-in-northern-ireland-abortion-case-at-high-court/
For more information about our campaign work in Northern Ireland, visit https://humanists.uk/northern-ireland/
The evidence session is available to watch online, visit:
https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/8647402b-4f42-4bcc-b8f3-4b8275cee191
At Humanists UK, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. Our work brings non-religious people together to develop their own views, helping people be happier and more fulfilled in the one life we have. Through our ceremonies, education services, and community and campaigning work, we strive to create a fair and equal society for all.