DUP allowed to stand in the way of reform

AS Brexit negotiations have again deadlocked over issues of the Irish border and the backstop agreement, critical matters are ignored by parliament regarding Northern Irish devolution.

While members from the DUP claim they are working to ensure Northern Ireland has equal standing to the rest of the UK, they are perfectly happy to allow double standards on issues of abortion and LGBT rights.

In January, Sarah Ewart brought her case to the High Court. The court was told how she was denied a termination in Northern Ireland in 2013 — despite doctors saying her baby would not survive outside the womb.

This case highlights the cruelty of the current laws and how they impact women, who simultaneously receive heartbreaking news and are denied adequate medical care at home.

As stated by Dawn Purvis (former director of the Marie Stopes pregnancy services in Belfast and a former member of the Assembly), the current, strict laws are leaving Northern Irish women traumatised.

I believe these need reform to bring them into line with the same rights and protections offered to women in the rest of the UK.

For how long will the Government ignore this abuse of women and support the DUP, who refuse to reform?

ROISIN KELLY Brussels, Belgium