Harris vows to give Northern women abortion access
HEALTH Minister Simon Harris has insisted his concern for Northern Irish women who find themselves in crisis pregnancies does not stop at the border.
Addressing an audience in west Belfast last night, Mr Harris vowed to ensure women from the North can access abortion services when the legislation is introduced. And the Minister told the audience at Féile an Phobail that he hopes the issue is ‘addressed in the near future’.
Mr Harris was part of a panel which discussed the recent referendum on the Eighth Amendment, in favour of replacing it with legislation to make legal provision for abortion.
However, abortion is still illegal in the North – unlike the rest of the UK – unless the woman’s life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious danger to her mental or physical health.
In the wake of Ireland’s historic referendum result, there was increasing pressure to reform the laws regarding terminations in the North.
However, the Democratic Unionist Party – which supports UK prime minister Theresa May’s government – opposes abortion.
The party was engaged in discussions with Sinn Féin to restore powersharing but so far these efforts have failed and the deadlock in the Northern Assembly continues. This means reform is unlikely to be addressed.
Mrs May came under fresh pressure to intervene in relation to the issue in early June, after the UK’s highest court – the Supreme Court – said the ban on terminations in the North in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality needed ‘radical reconsideration’.
Minister Harris previously said he backed reform on the issue in the North.
Speaking at the festival, he said: ‘Last year, at least 919 women from Northern Ireland travelled to England and Wales to access abortion services. This is a reality for women in Northern Ireland and one that I really hope their politicians address. In recent months the Irish people have addressed this issue through our referendum to repeal the Eighth Amendment. I now intend to bring in legislation to give effect to this decision in the autumn.
‘Whilst I respect the issue of abortion laws in Northern Ireland is a matter for public representatives in Northern Ireland, I really hope this is addressed in the near future.
‘In the meantime, I intend to ensure women from Northern Ireland can access such services in the Republic, just like they can access other health services here.’
DUP leader Arlene Foster previously said the issue of abortion is a ‘serious subject’ and that she has received emails from people in ‘the Republic of Ireland feeling very disenfranchised, can’t quite believe what has happened [there]’.
Mrs Foster also said she had received emails from ‘nationalists and republicans in Northern Ireland’ who were ‘not quite believing what is going on and saying they will be voting for the DUP as they believe we are the only party that supports the unborn’.