In spite of the progressive measure to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland in October 2019, women in Northern Ireland are currently facing great difficulty with regards to accessing home abortions amidst the COVID-19 outbreak.
Safe medical home abortions involve receiving medication through the post which consists of two tablets that induce a miscarriage. Having access to home abortions is vital during the pandemic as lockdown has imposed numerous travel restrictions, making it unsafe for women to have in-person consultations in order to take the necessary pills at clinics. The UK’s Department of Health and Social Care has recognised this and enabled women to manage medical abortions at home, but the Department of Health in Northern Ireland has not followed suit.
HOW WOMEN IN NORTHERN IRELAND ARE ABLE TO HAVE AN ABORTION DURING THE PANDEMIC
Prior to the decriminalisation of abortion in 2019, abortion cases, even in the instances of rape and incest, were subject to criminal penalty for both the woman and practitioner – making it one of the strictest anti-abortion laws in Europe. The repeal of this law therefore seemingly marked social change in the field of women’s rights and paved the way for accessible abortions in Northern Ireland.
However, the pandemic has arguably illustrated that this is not the case. Whilst the law has changed to legalise abortions, these rules are still relatively new and thus abortion services are not yet readily available. The reality for women in Northern Ireland involves crossing the border to have safe abortions in England, but due to the cancellation of flights it has been reported that earlier in the pandemic, some women had to travel 8 hours by ferry to get the procedure. This lengthy and expensive method of accessing an abortion raised concerns about women perhaps seeking more hazardous and dangerous routes for termination during the pandemic – something that the new law intended to eradicate.
To tackle this problem a new scheme was implemented last month which allowed women to have early medical abortions (up to 9 weeks) in clinics, yet this in itself is inconsistent with the legal regulations permitting abortion in unconditional circumstances for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
Human rights organisations were quick to criticise the policy, in particular its ignorance of the risks associated with travel during lockdown. Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland campaign manager stated that: “This does not remove the pressing need for measures that enable both abortion pills to be taken at home, which will ensure that people in vulnerable situations and those unable to travel have access to this healthcare. We repeat our call on the government for this to be delivered urgently.
WHY THE NORTHERN IRISH AUTHORITIES HAVE NOT PROVIDED HOME ABORTION SERVICES
The authorities are arguably not prohibiting home abortion services out of an actual medical concern for women, as the World Health Organisation has declared the pills safe to use. The inaccessibility of home abortions could be pinpointed to the cultural hostility towards legalising abortion, as was acknowledged by the Health Minister Robert Swann during questioning on this issue: “It is a sensitive issue in Northern Ireland, it’s a cross-cutting issue as well and it’s not one solely for the department of health,” This suggests that the government’s hesitancy may stem from conservative attitudes towards abortion. Leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice party, Jim Allister, also critically labelled the discussion a“campaign to liberalise further the abortion laws in Northern Ireland.”
It is not only some politicians that are against the changes, the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) are campaigning against legislation to impose abortion on demand in Northern Ireland. SPUC argues that it is something that “Boris Johnson” and thus the rest of the UK wants, but not something Northern Ireland fundamentally agrees with. Data to support this statement is incredibly mixed: a study commissioned by Both Lives Matter found that 52% of participants were opposed to the reformation of the previous strict abortion laws, yet a poll conducted by Amnesty Internationalshowed that nearly three quarters of people supported abortion law reform. Public opinion on abortion in Northern Ireland remains varied and unclear, arguably creating more barriers that are hindering women from accessing these services.
The ability of the Northern Irish authorities to mandate home abortions clearly has a long way to go. Nevertheless, activists and healthcare professionals are continuing to campaign for women’s reproductive rights from their homes in Ireland and across the globe.
Miya is a Law student at the University of Leeds. She is particularly interested in critically evaluating the likes of Criminal and International Human Rights Law to see the extent in which they actually help to combat social injustices in society. Social justice is at the heart of her philosophy.