MORE than 170 politicians from Britain, Ireland and Northern Ireland have signed a letter calling for a reform of the North’s laws on abortion.
The letter to Theresa May and Leo Varadkar was published in the Sunday Times ahead of this week’s British-Irish InterGovernmental Conference (BIIGC).
It calls on Westminster to repeal sections of the 1861 Offences against the Person Act, which makes abortion illegal in Northern Ireland and theoretically punishable by life in prison.
However a pro-life group in the North has warned that Westminster interference risks ‘crippling devolution if abortion laws are imposed on Northern Ireland’.
'Second-class citizens'
The letter in the Times states: “This is the first and critical step to ending the treatment of British and Irish women living in Northern Ireland as second-class citizens, who do not enjoy the same access to healthcare as their counterparts do across these islands.
“We therefore call for our respective governments to act to ensure that the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement is upheld and the human rights of the women living in Northern Ireland are respected.”
The cross-party campaign for abortion reform in the North is being spearheaded by Labour MP Stella Creasy.
Women in Northern Ireland should not be the 'collateral damage' of a deal between @theresa_may and the DUP says @stellacreasy #bbcsp pic.twitter.com/kpbdgPGbzp
— BBC Daily Politics and Sunday Politics (@daily_politics) July 22, 2018
The letter has been signed many Labour MPs as well as nine Tory parliamentarians and the leaders of Sinn Féin, the SDLP, the Alliance Party and the Green Party in the North.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou McDonald and Senator Catherine Noone, who headed the Oireachtas Committee on the Eighth Amendment, have also signed the letter, as have TDs from Fianna Fáil, Labour, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit.
Support for a reform of Northern Ireland’s abortion laws has grown since the people of Ireland voted to repeal the Eighth Amendment.
Power-sharing issues
Abortion reform would normally be a matter for the North’s devolved government, however the power-sharing executive collapsed 18 months ago, putting pressure on Westminster to address the situation.
However Mrs May will not want to upset the pro-life DUP, who are propping up the minority Tory government through a confidence and supply deal.
Meanwhile ahead of the BIIGC, pro-life supporters from the North urged Westminster not to reform the laws.
A delegation from Both Lives Matter – including former Sinn Féin mayor Ann Brolly and DUP MLA Carla Lockhart – travelled to Westminster this week, where they urged MPs to listen to the women of Northern Ireland who do not want the law changed.
“There’s been a lot of noise about the ‘need’ for new abortion law in Northern Ireland,” said Both Lives Matter co-founder Dawn McAvoy.
“This is being driven by pro-abortion campaigners who are trying to open up unlimited access to abortion. We represent some of the many Northern Irish women who reject this.
“We would urge British MPs to respect the people of Northern Ireland and our elected representatives.
“Our current law provides proper protection for both the mother and the unborn baby and we’ve found that many women have no desire for that law to be changed.”
