Give women abortion rights for Christmas

I KNOW you didn’t ask, but I’ll tell you that all I want for Christmas this year is for the women of Northern Ireland to be granted the same reproductive rights as their counterparts in the rest of the UK — me and at least two-thirds of the Northern Irish public, according to a recent poll by Amnesty.

It is unacceptable that the women of Northern Ireland will still in 2019 be forced to travel, or to take safe but illegal abortion pills, to access the same healthcare available in the rest of the UK and soon in Ireland.

It’sanatrocitythatthe Northern Irish authorities actively prosecute people for accessing this abortion medication, because of an archaic law.

Theseprosecutionsare cruel, unjust and inhumane. They would not be accepted anywhere else and they need to stop.

Thesehealthservicesare a basic human right and should be legally available and safely provided here, at home, in Northern Ireland.

This Christmas, let’s give women the gift of trust and autonomy over their bodies.

It’s time for the Government and the political parties in Northern Ireland to prioritise repealing the 150-year-old laws that criminalise abortions, and replace them with legislation that enables access to free, safe and legal abortions, in line with international best practice.

MARGUERITE REGAN By email