Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
ULSTER WOMEN TO GET FREE ABORTIONS
Government announces move to spare DUP from vote
NORTHERN Ireland women were yesterday told they have the right to free abortions in England.
The Government announced the measure in a political move designed to save the DUP having to vote on it as part of the Queen’s Speech. A spokeswoman for the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: “We are delighted. This is a landmark moment.” But Precious Life described the move as an “outrageous attack on democracy”.
CHARITIES last night welcomed a decision by the Government to fund abortions in England for women arriving from Northern Ireland as a “landmark moment”.
Chancellor Philip Hammond made the announcement as pressure mounted on Theresa May and her wafer-thin majority, which is reliant on the support of the anti-abortion DUP. The move looks to have seen off the threat of Tory MPS helping to pass an amendment by Labour’s Stella Creasy to the Queen’s Speech, which would have put Arlene Foster’s MPS in an awkward position. Abortion is illegal here except where the life or mental health of the mother is in danger. Reacting to the news a spokeswoman from the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said: “We are delighted. This is a landmark moment. For years the women of Northern Ireland, despite being UK citizens and taxpayers, have not been entitled to Nhs-funded care. “This is not the solution to the gross injustice whereby women in Northern Ireland are denied access to abortion care at home, and we look forward to seeing progress on that front.” A spokesman for abortion provider Marie Stopes UK said: “This is a hugely positive step forward but there is no reason why these services shouldn’t be provided in Northern Ireland, saving thousands of women each year the cost and stress of travelling to England. “Until that becomes reality, we look forward to working closely with Government to ensure women travelling from Northern Ireland receive the equitable NHS treatment they deserve.” Ms Creasy scrapped her amendment and said: “The figure of £1,400 is what Northern Irish women were having to spend to get an abortion here in England and therefore it is welcome that the Government is now saying that they will correct this injustice.” But John Smeaton, chief of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, blasted the decision last night. He said: “Theresa May’s Government has abandoned neutrality on the abortion issue by deciding to provide funding for abortions, carried out in England, for women resident in Northern Ireland. “This decision will not only prove fatal for Northern Ireland’s unborn children, killed at the British taxpayers’ expense, it places the women of Northern Ireland at the mercy of abortion providers such as Marie Stopes and British Pregnancy Advisory Service which carry out the lion’s share of NHS abortions, whose dangerous practices have been roundly condemned in recent months by the Care Quality Commission. “This is a black day for unborn children, mothers and democracy. It’s a great day for the abortion industry.”
This is a landmark moment. We are absolutely delighted BRITISH PREGNANCY ADVISORY COUNCIL
NEWS that women from Northern Ireland are to be allowed abortions on the NHS in England will doubtless elicit a strong reaction.
The termination of a pregnancy is an issue that divides people here as starkly as our politics. Those in favour of the move will naturally say it is a woman’s right to choose. Those against have argued there can be no justification for the ending of a baby’s life. Even the language used can divide people. But for those who face that terrible journey to England to have a termination, expecting them to also face a bill of well over £1,000 seems manifestly unfair. Doubtless, however, this new measure will not be the end of the abortion row. If anything, it sounds as though it might be the opening page of a new chapter in this perilous debate.