Northern Ireland Humanists is encouraging its members and supporters to respond to a UK Government consultation on new regulations for abortion in Northern Ireland, which will come into force next year. The consultation closes on 16 December.
Abortion was legalised in Northern Ireland on 22 October, and from 31 March 2020, abortion will be available through the Health and Social Care system. The UK Government has launched a consultation on a new framework to provide lawful access to abortion services in Northern Ireland, including where abortions can be performed, at what gestational stages, and whether doctors can conscientiously object to performing abortions.
Northern Ireland Humanists is encouraging people to influence the consultation by filling out a short form on our website here.
In recent years, Northern Ireland Humanists has intervened in several cases concerning Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion laws and supported legislation passed by the Westminster Parliament which resulted in abortion being removed from criminal law in Northern Ireland.
Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator commented, ‘Northern Ireland Humanists supports the rights of women and girls to dignity and personal autonomy, and accordingly their rights to choose and access safe and lawful abortion, regardless of the circumstances of their pregnancies. Following the success of removing abortion from criminal law in Northern Ireland, we need to ensure that the regulations going forward reflect the advances in medical practice that have taken place in the fifty years since the Abortion Act in the rest of the UK, and do not impose any medically unnecessary barriers in the way of any woman who wishes to exercise her right to bodily autonomy.’
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For more information contact Northern Ireland Humanists Coordinator Boyd Sleator on boyd@humanists.uk or at 02890 029946.
Read more about our work on abortion.
Northern Ireland Humanists is a part of Humanists UK, working with the Humanist Association of Ireland. Humanists UK is the national charity working on behalf of non-religious people. Powered by over 85,000 members and supporters, we advance free thinking and promote humanism to create a tolerant society where rational thinking and kindness prevail. We provide ceremonies, pastoral care, education, and support services benefitting over a million people every year and our campaigns advance humanist thinking on ethical issues, human rights, and equal treatment for all.