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 A socially conservative province where the Catholic and Protestant
faiths still exert strong influence, Northern Ireland allows
abortion only when a mother's life is in danger.
The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, an independent body,
has been arguing since 2013 that the law should be changed because
it violates the rights of women and girls under the European
Convention on Human Rights.
After failing to convince the province's Department of Justice to
initiate a reform, the Human Rights Commission launched legal action
against it in December 2014 and the case has been working its way
through the courts ever since.
A panel of seven Supreme Court judges in London will hear arguments
for and against the proposed changes during a three-day hearing.
They will give their judgment at a later date.
As well as the parties in the case, the court will hear from
organizations that support the changes, such as Humanists UK,
Amnesty International and a United Nations working group on
discrimination against women.
It will also hear from groups who oppose any reform, such as the
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children and Catholic bishops
from the province.
Northern Ireland's elected assembly voted against changing abortion
laws in February 2016.
Abortion laws are far less restrictive in the rest of the United
Kingdom, and hundreds of Northern Irish women travel to England
every year to have unwanted pregnancies terminated.
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"It is simply outrageous that even in the extreme circumstances this
case deals with, women in Northern Ireland still are not able to
access legal and safe abortions," said Andrew Copson, chief
executive of Humanists UK.
"With the lack of any political will in Northern Ireland to sort
this matter out, it is right that the Northern Ireland Human Rights
Commission has taken the subject to the courts, to ensure that every
woman’s autonomy and dignity are respected, and human rights are
upheld."
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children described the
Human Rights Commission's legal action as a "crusade against
disabled babies".
"The Commission is waging a legal battle to overturn laws in
Northern Ireland which protect unborn children from being aborted
simply because they have a disability," said Liam Gibson, Northern
Ireland development officer at the society.
(Reporting by Estelle Shirbon; editing by Stephen Addison)
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