Judges cannot act on N Ireland abortion laws

NORTHERN IRELAND’S abortion laws are incompatible with human rights legislation, the Supreme Court said yesterday, but its judges said they could not act over the issue.

A majority of the panel of justices expressed their “clear opinion” of incompatibility in the cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape and incest. But they also found that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission had no legal standing to bring a challenge.

Despite the non-binding conclusion, the ruling has bolstered calls for reform, with Theresa May under increasing pressure to act after Ireland voted to overturn a ban on abortion.

Abortion remains illegal in Northern Ireland except where a woman’s life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious danger to her mental or physical health.