Judgement reserved in abortion case

65,000 travelled to England for abortions, FPA says

Judgement has been reserved in the High Court judicial review of how Northern Ireland's abortion laws are applied.

The case was brought by the Family Planning Association (FPA), which has said the existing laws on abortion in the province are confusing.

The charity wants the court to order the Department of Health to publish clear guidelines on how pregnancy terminations are provided under existing law.

Abortions in Northern Ireland are still strictly limited, and can only go ahead if it can be proved that the pregnancy would damage the physical or mental health of the woman.

'No law change'

The FPA has said the majority of women who decide to terminate a pregnancy are forced to travel to Britain.

Guidelines would provide a measure of comfort to doctors afraid of prosecution

Lord Lester QC

It has estimated that about 65,000 women have travelled from Northern Ireland in the last 20 years for an abortion in Britain, paying up to £1,000 to private clinics.

But on the first day of the two-day hearing at the High Court, on Monday, the FPA stressed that it was not aiming for the 1967 Abortion Act to be extended to Northern Ireland.

The Act legalised abortions in England and Wales, but it was never introduced in Northern Ireland.

'GPs fearful'

Lord Lester QC, acting for the FPA, told Mr Justice Kerr the lack of guidance had left some GPs so fearful of prosecution that they had been overly cautious.

He said: "The department has failed to issue guidelines on circumstances when abortion is available, with the result that some doctors err on the side of caution or adopt a restrictive approach.

"Guidelines would provide a measure of comfort to doctors afraid of prosecution."

The Department of Health, the respondent in the case, also gave evidence, on Monday.

Lawyers for the department said that just four out of 8,000 Northern Ireland women who had abortions in Britain over a five-year period could legally have had the operation at home.

Nicholas Hanna QC, told the court that between 1993 and 1997, 8,000 women from Northern Ireland were known to have travelled to England and Wales to have a pregnancy terminated.

He said: "One cannot say that there's some significant number of women who are being wrongly denied abortion in Northern Ireland and because of that are travelling to England and Wales.

"The statistics simply don't bear that out."

Pro-life opposition

On Tuesday four anti-abortion groups - Catholic bishops, the Precious Life lobby group, the Society for the Protection for the Unborn Child and the Care and Life Alliance - gave evidence.

Precious Life said the FPA's legal case was an attempt to make steps towards a liberalisation of the abortion laws.

Spokeswoman Bernie Smyth said: "The FPA used coded language like 'reproductive healthcare' when what they really want is abortion on demand."

Bernard McCloskey QC, acting for the Catholic bishops, said his clients had a "profound interest" in the case.

"The crime of child destruction is the most heinous crime," he said.

"Abortion is a deliberate and direct killing of human beings in every phase of existence extending from conception to birth."