The British 1967 Abortion Act legalized abortion only within certain narrowly defined circumstances, and abortion outside these limits remains a criminal act. The 1967 Abortion Act permitting abortion in certain circumstances was never extended to Northern Ireland. This latest legislative move aims to decriminalize abortion across the UK.

In a letter to one of her parliamentary constituents, made public by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC), the UK’s Prime Minister said she did not support the repeal of the relevant sections of the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861 because it "does not solve the issue of abortion in Northern Ireland, as without any new provision it offers no safeguards for women, and would impact on England and Wales, as well as Northern Ireland.”

May went on to add that if the 1861 act was repealed there would be no upper time limit on how far into pregnancy a woman could have an abortion. She repeated the current government position by saying that it is up to Ulster’s politicians to deal locally with the issue of abortion provision in Northern Ireland given that it is a devolved matter.

The private members' bill has been brought forward by Labour Member of Parliament Diana Johnson, and has the backing of Amnesty International. The Bill will receive its second reading in the United Kingdom Parliament this week. The Bill aims to repeal Ss.58 and 59 of the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861 under which abortion remains a criminal offence. 

In regard to Johnson’s Bill, it is felt by many commentators that it has little chance of proceeding into law. This is because the government has made it clear that any change in the law on abortion in Northern Ireland is a devolved matter for the local assembly. That assembly is currently not sitting due to ongoing disagreements between its two main political parties, namely, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and Sinn Fein.   

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