Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
TRAVEL CASH FOR ULSTER ABORTIONS
Women to get hardship grant for costs of journey to England
ULSTER women on low incomes who go to England for free abortions will get travel bills paid, the Government has announced.
Stormont’s strict laws on terminations result in many making the journey across the Irish Sea to access the procedure.
Tory Minister Justine Greening last night said those who meet defined financial hardship criteria will be eligible for the grant.
She added: “This is comparable with the service
that women in England receive. This does not change the position in relation to the provision of abortions in Northern Ireland, which is a matter for the Northern Ireland Executive and the Northern Ireland Assembly.”
Labour MP Stella Creasy had tabled an amendment to the Queen’s Speech calling for “adequate funding” to ensure free access to abortions in England for women arriving from Northern Ireland.
But she withdrew her proposal after the Government confirmed it intended to fund such access.
Women’s Minister Ms Greening said abortions had been offered free of charge since her June announcement. In a written statement to the Commons, she said women from Northern Ireland seeking medical support in England will be eligible for: A consultation with an abortion provider in England, including an assessment of whether the legal grounds for an abortion are met
The abortion procedure HIV or sexually transmitted infection testing as appropriate
An offer of contraception from the provider, and Support with travel costs if the woman meets financial hardship criteria. Emma Campbell of Alliance for Choice welcomed the move. She said: “Fewer women will now have to risk prosecution just because they cannot afford to pay for an abortion.
“We hope that this progress will not stop the push for true equality, when abortion seekers in Northern Ireland will no longer be exiled for healthcare.”
An anti-abortion group called the move “a scandal and a disgrace”.
The Right To Life organisation said it was an “extraordinary intervention by the Government into the devolved affairs of Northern Ireland”.
It also accused Ms Greening of a “shameful ministerial over-reach” without Parliamentary scrutiny or debate.