Supreme Court dismisses bid to overturn Northern Ireland's strict abortion laws

Top judges today heaped pressure on Theresa May to guarantee abortion rights for women in Northern Ireland after ruling that existing laws are in breach of international human rights.

The Prime Minister has so far resisted calls to intervene in the growing row, insisting the issue of abortion should be dealt with by politicians in Northern Ireland alone.

However, the Supreme Court this morning called for a “radical reconsideration” of the laws, which it said put women are at risk of “inhuman and degrading treatment”.

Finding the current rules are in breach of the European Convention on Human Rights, judges said women face the “appalling prospect” of giving birth to a baby they know will not survive, while the blanket ban on abortion when pregnancy came through rape or incest was “plainly disproportionate”.

However, judges said they are powerless to strike down the Northern Irish laws or make a landmark judgement because the Supreme Court does not have jurisdiction. Its deputy president Lord Mance pressed lawmakers to act “at as early a time as possible” to spare women from “ongoing suffering”.

Court battle: Grainne Teggart (right) and Sarah Ewart (centre) outside the Supreme Court
PA

The ruling puts more pressure on Mrs May to take a decisive stand on the issue.

Ministers were due before MPs again today to discuss abortion rights in Northern Ireland after MP Stella Creasy was granted an emergency question in the Commons.

Conservative MP Maria Miller, who chairs the Women and Equalities Select Committee, said the Government must now act to “rectify” the law in Northern Ireland in light of the court ruling.

Labour MP Jess Phillips, who shared her own abortion story in a House of Commons debate on Tuesday, said: “The Prime Minister must intervene. It is an obvious human rights violation. We must act to protect all the women of Northern Ireland.”

Pro-life demonstrators protest outside the supreme court
AFP/Getty Images

Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said: “Theresa May now has a duty to do all she can to amend the law.”

The case was brought by Northern Irish woman Sarah Ewart, who was forced to travel to England for an abortion after being told the baby she was carrying could not survive.

Celebrations after Ireland's abortion vote

1/14

She was told a termination was not an option in Northern Ireland, and seeking a procedure in her own country could land her in prison. She began campaigning for a change in the law, arguing women carrying babies that would not survive or those impregnated through rape or incest should be allowed to have an abortion.

Judges voted by a majority of 5-2 that abortion law breaches human rights in cases where there is a “fatal foetal abnormality”. They voted by a majority of 4-3 that it is a breach of human rights to ban abortion in circumstances of rape and incest.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in