The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has issued legal proceedings in the High Court in Belfast against the Department of Justice. The NIHRC is of the opinion that current laws on the termination of pregnancy constitute a violation of human rights. The case will be heard on 2 February 2015.
Under current law, termination is available where it is necessary to preserve the life of a woman where there is a risk of a serious and adverse effect on her physical or mental health. The NIHRC is seeking a change in the law to extend termination of pregnancy in circumstances of rape, incest or serious malformation of the foetus.
The NIHRC asserts that the issue engages Northern Ireland’s obligations under the United Nations systems and the European Convention on Human Rights. The ECHR violations include, Article 3 (prohibition on torture, and cruel inhuman and degrading treatment), Article 8 (right to private and family life), both read in conjunction with Article 14 (non-discrimination).
The NIHRC has flagged these issues with the Department of Justice since November 2013. In October 2014 the Department of Justice launched a consultation on abortion legislation on proposals to amend the criminal law to allow for termination of pregnancy in cases of lethal foetal abnormality and sexual crime. The consultation closes on 17 January 2015 and the changes to be made, if any, will depend on the public response. However the NIHRC does not believe that this is a sufficient commitment to making the changes necessary to bring Northern Ireland into compliance with human rights obligations.
In view of this and the public interest of the case, the NIHRC has initiated judicial review proceedings in the High Court, in its own name, as part of their statutory powers. Using this same process, the NIHRC has previously successfully challenged NI adoption laws on grounds of discrimination with the result that unmarried and same-sex couples can now apply to adopt in Northern Ireland.
The Belfast High Court has set a hearing date for the first stage of the judicial review, for 2 February 2015.
Click here to read a press release from the Northern Ireland Commission on Human Rights.
Click here to read more on the Department of Justice consultation.