On Monday 30 November the Belfast High Court issued a judgment declaring Northern Ireland’s prohibition of abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality, rape and incest, incompatible with a woman’s right to privacy under article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The application was brought by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission who sought to liberalise Northern Ireland's abortion legislation to include fatal foetal abnormality, rape, incest and the serious malformation of the foetus. Mr Justice Mark Horner supported the Commission’s application on the first three grounds but rejected the last.
Following the delivery of his decision, Justice Horner requested the three parties to the case – the Commission, the Northern Ireland Department of Justice and the Attorney General John Larkin QC to consider the implications of his ruling and whether it would have to be referred to the Northern Assembly to be applied under current legislation or if indeed new legislation would be required to give it force of law.
An appeal of Justice Horner’s decision to the Supreme Court is likely given Attorney General Larkin’s ‘disappointment’ with the judgment. Justice Horner has requested further submissions from the parties to the case on how best to proceed. One possibility is that the decision could be “read down” meaning that it would become law without the requirement for further legislation from the Northern Ireland Assembly. Alternatively, if the decision cannot be read down Mr Justice Horner could make a declaration that current Northern Ireland abortion law is incompatible with the UK’s obligations under the UK Human Rights Act 1998.
Speaking following the decision, Les Allamby, Chief Commissioner of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission outlined the importance of the decision: “In taking this case, we sought to change the law so that women and girls in Northern Ireland have the choice of accessing a termination of pregnancy locally in circumstances of fatal foetal abnormalities, rape or incest without being criminalised for doing so”.
Click here and here to read articles in the Irish Times.
Click here to read an article by Dr Kathryn McNeilly on the RightsNI website.