MPs Vote In Favour Of Axing NI's Abortion Laws

MPs have voted in favour of scrapping the current abortion laws in Northern Ireland.

The first reading of the Abortion Bill was passed by 208 to 123, a majority vote of 85 in the Commons on Tuesday.

Six DUP MPs voted against the bill. They were Gregory Campbell, Jeffrey Donaldson, Gavin Robinson, Jim Shannon, David Simpson and Sammy Wilson. MP Emma Little Pengelly was a teller, meaning she counted the votes but could not take part.

The Bill was then listed for a second reading on 23 November but is unlikely to become law in its current form without Government support or sufficient parliamentary time.

The private member's bill was tabled by Labour MP Diana Johnson in an effort to remove sections of the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act that make abortion a criminal offence in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The 1967 Abortion Act in England and Wales allowed exemptions to the 1861 Act and enabled legal terminations.

Abortions in Northern Ireland are currently illegal in all but exceptional medical and mental health circumstances.

On Wednesday, fellow Labour MPs will attempt to amend a bill the Government is tabling in response to the ongoing power-sharing crisis.

The amendments proposed by MPs Stella Creasy and Conor McGinn aim to use the bill to compel the Government to push through changes to abortion and same sex marriage laws in Northern Ireland.

The Government has so far resisted pressure to intervene and legislate for reform, following a recent Supreme Court judgement that found the current laws to be incompatible with human rights.

In June, a majority of judges in the UK's highest court said the ban on terminations in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality needed "radical reconsideration".

Given there are no ministers at Stormont due to the power-sharing impasse, pro-choice campaigners have demanded the laws be changed at Westminster.



(JG/MH)