Today’s ruling that current laws are incompatible with human rights is a milestone but it changes nothing for most Northern Irish women The restrictive nature of abortion legislation in Northern Ireland is a scandal hidden in plain sight. Two-thirds of people in Britain have no understanding that women in Northern Ireland cannot get an abortion apart from in extreme circumstances,or that illegal abortions are theoretically punishable with life imprisonment both for the women and medical staff who perform them. These are the harshest penalties in Europe.
Monday’s tall court ruling marks a meaningful milestone in the campaign to reform the law, but any celebration should be muted. It is very unlikely that Northern Irish women will get the same rights as those elsewhere in Britain any time soon.
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Source: theguardian.com