Editing Abortion in the United Kingdom (section)

==History==
Debates and practices relating to abortion, pregnancy and the beginning of human life are recorded in [[History of abortion#Greco-Roman world|Roman medical literature]] which would have been become available in Britain from the 1st century AD onwards. The medical writer Soranus of Ephesus, for example, wrote in the early 2nd century:<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunn |first1=Peter M |title=Soranus of Ephesus (circa AD 98-138) and perinatal care in Roman times |journal=Archives of Disease in Childhood: Fetal and Neonatal Edition |date=July 1995 |volume=73 |issue=1 |pages=51–52 |publisher=BMJ Publishing Group|doi=10.1136/fn.73.1.f51 |pmid=7552600 |pmc=2528358 }}</ref>

{{blockquote|A contraceptive differs from an abortive, for the first does not let conception take place, while the latter destroys what has been conceived{{nbsp}}[...] But a controversy has arisen. For one party banishes abortives, citing the testimony of Hippocrates who says: "I will give to no one an abortive"; moreover, because it is the specific task of medicine to guard and preserve what has been engendered by nature. The other party prescribes abortives, but with discrimination{{nbsp}}[...] only to prevent subsequent danger in parturition [childbirth].}}

Similar issues would also have been discussed in Celtic culture, although written Celtic texts were [[Ogham|only available from around the 4th century]]. An early Christian understanding of preventing abortion and infanticide, as outlined in the 1st century ''[[Didache]]''<ref>{{cite web |last1=Lake |first1=Kirsopp |title=Didache, or Teaching of the Twelve Apostles, Chapter 2, verse 2 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Didache_(Lake_translation)#Chapter_II |website=www.wikisource.org |publisher=Unknown |access-date=11 August 2022 |date=1912}}</ref> and similar writings, would have been known in the [[Christianity in Roman Britain|early British Church]] which experienced more freedom and influence following Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 AD, and also in the [[Celtic Christianity#Ireland|early Irish Church]] after it was founded by [[Saint Patrick|Patrick]] around 432 AD.

Alongside this cultural change in Roman society, a more significant sense of value was associated with the life (and death) of infant and neo-natal children. Several studies of the burials of children who died before or close to the time of birth in [[Roman Britain]] have been made,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Millett |first1=Martin |title=Infant and Child Burial Rites in Roman Britain: a Study from East Yorkshire |journal=Britannia |date=2015 |volume=46 |pages=171–189 |doi=10.1017/S0068113X15000100 |s2cid=51842171 |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Gowland |first1=Rebecca |title=On the brink of being: re-evaluating infanticide and infant burial in Roman Britain |journal=Journal of Roman Archaeology Supplementary Series |date=2014 |volume=96 |pages=69–88 |url=https://dro.dur.ac.uk/19299/1/ |access-date=11 August 2022}}</ref> and the presence of neo-natal burials given the same burial rites as adults is "a pointer to identification of the cemetery as Christian" as such burials were rare before the 4th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Watts |first1=Dorothy J |title=Infant Burials and Romano-British Christianity |journal=Archaeological Journal |date=1989 |volume=146 |issue=1 |pages=372–383 |doi=10.1080/00665983.1989.11021295 |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00665983.1989.11021295?journalCode=raij20 |access-date=11 August 2022}}</ref>

Care for abandoned or unwanted children, such as [[kinship care]] within families and friendship circles, and the adoption and fostering of ''[[alumni]]'', were also well-established in Roman society. In the early Middle Ages, in Britain and other regions of Northern Europe, parents who did not want to raise their children often gave them to monasteries along with a small fee – an practice known as ''[[oblate|oblation]]''.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=E.|first=Lester, Anne|date=2007|title=Lost but not yet Found: Medieval Foundlings and their Care in Northern France, 1200–1500|url=https://quod.lib.umich.edu/w/wsfh/0642292.0035.001/--lost-but-not-yet-found-medieval-foundlings-and-their-care?rgn=main;view=fulltext|journal=Proceedings of the Western Society for French History|language=en|volume=35|issn=2573-5012}}</ref>

Abortion was mainly dealt with by the [[ecclesiastical court]]s until their abolition during the Reformation. These cases were generally assigned to the ecclesiastical courts due to problems of evidence; the courts had wider evidential rules and more discretion regarding sentencing.<ref>{{cite book | last = Keown | first = John | title = Abortion, doctors and the law: some aspects of the legal regulation of abortion in England from 1803 to 1982 | publisher = Cambridge University Press | location = Cambridge New York | year = 2002 | url = http://www.cambridge.org/us/catalogue/catalogue.asp?isbn=0521894131 | isbn = 9780521894135 }}</ref> A number of cases such as the ''Twinslayers Case'', in England in 1327, were heard in the secular courts as part of the common law. Later, under Scottish common law, abortion was defined as a criminal offence unless performed for "reputable medical reasons", a definition which could be interpreted as sufficiently broad as to essentially preclude prosecution.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Boseley |first1=Sarah |title=MPs to discuss reform of UK's Victorian-era abortion law |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/10/mps-to-discuss-reform-of-uks-victorian-era-abortion-law |access-date=4 May 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=10 March 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

===Early statute and modern case law===
The legality of abortion, and the value of the lives of pregnant women and unborn children, in common law was discussed by several English jurists from the Middle Ages onwards, including [[Henry Bracton]], [[William Stanford (judge)|William Stanford]], [[Edward Coke]] and [[William Blackstone]]. For example, Blackstone wrote in his 1765 ''[[Commentaries on the Laws of England]]'':

{{blockquote|Life{{nbsp}}[...] begins in contemplation of law as soon as an infant is able to stir in the mother's womb. For if a woman is {{em|quick}} with child, and by a potion, or otherwise, killeth it in her womb; or if any one beat her, whereby the child dieth in her body, and she is delivered of a dead child; this, though not murder, was by the ancient law homicide or manslaughter. But at present it is not looked upon in quite so atrocious a light, though it remains a very heinous misdemeanor.<ref>{{cite book |first=William |last=Blackstone |author-link=William Blackstone |chapter=Amendment IX, Document 1 |chapter-url=http://press-pubs.uchicago.edu/founders/documents/amendIXs1.html |title=[[Commentaries on the Laws of England]] |orig-year=1765 |year=1979 |publisher=University of Chicago Press |location=Chicago |volume=5 |page=388}}</ref>}}

Shortly after his appointment as Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, [[Edward Law, 1st Baron Ellenborough]], codified abortion as an offence in statute law, in England and Wales and Ireland, through the Malicious Shooting or Stabbing Act 1803, which became known as [[Lord Ellenborough's Act]]. This legislation and the subsequent acts in the 19th century did not apply to Scotland due to its separate legal system based on common law.

The 1803 Act introduced [[capital punishment]] for wilfully, maliciously, and unlawfully administering "any deadly poison, or other noxious and destructive substance or thing, with intent{{nbsp}}[...] to cause and procure the miscarriage of any woman, then being [[quickening|quick]] with child" (section 1) and penalties, at the discretion of the court, up to and including [[penal transportation]] for using means to "cause the miscarriage of any woman not being, or not being proved to be, quick with child" (section 2).<ref>{{cite book |title=Pickering's Statutes At Large |date=1804 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |location=Cambridge |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Lord_Ellenborough%27s_Act_1803 |access-date=13 February 2023}}</ref>

The offences created by the 1803 Act were consolidated in the first [[Offences Against the Person Act 1828|Offences Against the Person Act]], introduced by [[Robert Peel]] and enacted for England in 1828, which outlined the same offences and punishments (section 13).<ref>{{cite web |title=Offences against the Person Act 1828 |url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Offences_against_the_Person_Act_1828 |website=Wikisource |publisher=Statutes at Large |access-date=13 February 2023}}</ref> The same consolidation took place in Irish law through the [[Peel's Acts|Offences Against the Person (Ireland) 1829]] (section 16). Both Acts were replaced by the [[Offences Against the Person Act 1837]] which created a single abortion offence without a distinction around a pregnant woman being quick with child or not, and also repealed the death penalty for causing an abortion.

The law was again consolidated through the [[Offences against the Person Act 1861]], which continues to be the main legislation for prosecuting personal injury in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Act created two offences – administering drugs or using instruments to procure abortion (section 58), which replaced the previous legislation from 1839 and allowed for a sentence of life imprisonment; and procuring drugs, or any other means, to cause abortion (section 59) with a potential sentence of three years' imprisonment. The content of the 1861 Act was applied in colonial legislation throughout the British Empire in subsequent years e.g. the Offences Against the Person Act 1866 in New Zealand.<ref>{{cite web |title=Offences Against the Person Act 1866 |url=http://www.nzlii.org/nz/legis/hist_act/oatpa186630v1866n19381 |website=New Zealand Legal Information Institute |publisher=University of Otago Faculty of Law, University of Canterbury & Australasian Legal Information Institute |access-date=13 February 2023}}</ref>

Alongside legislation against abortion, [[philanthropy]] encouraged more formal and organised arrangements to care for children born from unwanted pregnancies through the initiatives of social reformers; examples included the [[orphanage]] movement (which included the [[Foundling Hospital]], London, in 1739); the pioneering of [[Foster care in the United Kingdom|foster care]] in Cheshire in 1853 by John Armistead; and the Adoption of Children Act 1926, for England and Wales.<ref>{{cite web |title=Adoption of Children Act 1926 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Geo5/16-17/29/enacted |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |access-date=13 February 2023}}</ref>

In the late 19th century and early 20th centuries, [[Abortifacient|abortifacents]] were discreetly advertised for women with unwanted pregnancies who were seeking abortions; there was also a considerable body of folklore about inducing miscarriages. So-called 'backstreet' abortionists using methods such as these were relatively common although their efforts could be fatal. Estimates of the number of illegal abortions varied widely; by one estimate, 100,000 women made efforts to procure an abortion in 1914, usually by drugs.<ref>Szreter; Fisher</ref>

The criminality of abortion in [[England and Wales]] was reaffirmed in 1929, when the [[Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929|Infant Life (Preservation) Act]] was passed; the Act criminalised the deliberate destruction of a child "capable of being born alive". This was to close a lacuna in the law, identified by the former High Court judge [[Charles Darling, 1st Baron Darling]], which allowed for infants to be killed during birth, thus meaning that the perpetrator could neither be prosecuted for abortion or murder.<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Lords]] | title = Child Destruction Bill | url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/lords/1928/jul/12/child-destruction-bill-hl |date= 12 July 1928 |column_start= 998 |column_end= 1000 }}</ref> The Act included the presumption that all children ''in utero'' over 28 weeks of gestation were capable of being born alive. Where the life of child in utero was ended before this gestation, evidence was presented and considered to determine whether or not the child was capable of being born alive.

[[File:Five National Abortion Campaign badges, United Kingdom, 1970 Wellcome L0059391.jpg|thumb|National Abortion Campaign badges protesting for a women's right to choose to have an abortion, 1970s]]
The [[Abortion Law Reform Association]], an [[abortion rights]] lobbying group, was formed in 1936.

In 1938, the decision in ''R v. Bourne''<ref>''R v Bourne'' [1939] 1 KB 687, [1938] 3 All ER 615, [[Court of Criminal Appeal (England and Wales)|Court of Criminal Appeal]]</ref> allowed for further considerations to be taken into account. This case related to an abortion performed on a girl who had been raped, and extended the defence to abortion to include "mental and physical wreck" (Lord Justice McNaghtan). The gynaecologist concerned, [[Aleck Bourne]], later became a founder member of the anti-abortion group, the [[Society for the Protection of Unborn Children]] (SPUC)<ref>{{cite web | title = Our work | url = https://www.spuc.org.uk/our-work | website = spuc.org.uk | publisher = [[Society for the Protection of Unborn Children]] }}</ref> in 1966.

In 1939, the Inter-Departmental Committee on Abortion, established by the Home Office and Ministry of Health, recommended a change to abortion laws but the intervention of World War II meant that all plans were shelved. Post-war, after decades of stasis, certain high-profile tragedies, including disability in unborn children caused by the [[thalidomide]] drug, and social changes brought the issue of abortion back into the political arena.

Westminster's responsibility for criminal justice and health policy, including around abortion, on the island of Ireland was transferred to the [[Northern Ireland Parliament]] (on its formation in 1921) and the [[Parliament of the Irish Free State]] (formed in December 1922). Both legislatures took an essentially conservative position, viewing abortion as an offence against the person, or an offence of child destruction, in line with existing legislation in [[England and Wales]].

===The 1967 Act===

The [[Abortion Act 1967]] sought to clarify the law in Britain. Introduced by [[David Steel]] and subject to heated debate, it allowed for legal abortion on a number of grounds, with the added protection of free provision through the [[National Health Service]]. The Act was passed on 27 October 1967 and came into effect on 27 April 1968.<ref name="Commons 1967">{{cite web | last = House of Commons, Science and Technology Committee | author-link = Science and Technology Select Committee | title = Scientific Developments Relating to the Abortion Act 1967 Volume 1 Twelfth Report of Session 2006–07 | url = https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmsctech/1045/104502.htm }} [https://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmsctech/1045/1045i.pdf Pdf.]</ref>

Before the [[Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990]] amended the Act, the [[Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929]] acted as a buffer to the Abortion Act 1967. This meant that abortions could not be carried out if the child was "capable of being born alive". There was therefore no statutory limit put into the Abortion Act 1967, the limit being that which the courts decided as the time at which a child could be born alive. The ''C v S'' case in 1987 confirmed that, at that time, between 19 and 22 weeks a foetus was not capable of being born alive.<ref name="familyLaw"/> The 1967 Act required that the procedure must be certified by two doctors before being performed.

===Proposals since 1967: Great Britain===
During each Parliament, several [[private member's bill]]s are generally introduced to seek to amend the law in relation to abortion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Find a Bill (bill titles including 'abortion') |url=https://bills.parliament.uk/?SearchTerm=abortion&Session=0&BillSortOrder=0&BillType=all&BillStage=&CurrentHouse=&OriginatingHouse=&Expanded=False |website=www.parliament.uk |publisher=UK Parliament |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> In the years following a supportive report in favour of the 1967 Act by the [[Lane Committee]] in 1974, Members of Parliament introduced four bills which have resulted in substantive debate in the House of Commons (votes are indicated in brackets with ayes followed by noes):

* ''Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1975'' – referred to a select committee (260–125);<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | title = Abortion (Amendment) Bill (Select Committee) | url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1975/feb/26/abortion-amendment-bill-select-committee-1#S5CV0887P0_19750226_HOC_257 |date= 26 February 1975 |column_start= 503 |column_end= 542 }}</ref>
* ''Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1976'' – referred to select committee (313–172);<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | title = Abortion (Amendment) Bill (Select Committee) | url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1976/feb/09/abortion-amendment-bill-select-committee#S5CV0905P0_19760209_HOC_358 |date= 9 February 1976 |column_start= 100 |column_end= 170 }}</ref>
* ''Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1979'' – approved at second stage (242–98) but not enacted;<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | title = Abortion (Amendment) Bill| url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1979/jul/13/abortion-amendment-bill |date= 13 July 1979 |column_start= 891 |column_end= 983 }}</ref>
* ''Abortion (Amendment) Bill 1988'' – approved at second stage (296–251) but not enacted;<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | title = Abortion (Amendment) Bill | url = https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1988/jan/22/abortion-amendment-bill-1#S6CV0125P0_19880122_HOC_66 |date= 22 January 1988 |column_start= 1228 |column_end= 1296 }}</ref>

[[File:Percentage of birth to unmarried women, selected countries, 1980 and 2007.png|upright=1.6|thumb|Percentage of births to unmarried women, selected countries, 1980 and 2007<ref name="non_mar1">{{cite web|url=https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db18.htm#:~:text=Most%20births%20to%20teenagers%20(86,steeply%20from%2050%25%20in%201970.|title=Changing Patterns of Nonmarital Childbearing in the United States |website=CDC/National Center for Health Statistics|date=May 13, 2009|access-date=January 11, 2021}}</ref>]]

In addition, in 1990, members voted on several proposed amendments to clause 34 of the ''Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill'' relating to the termination of pregnancy.<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=United Kingdom |house=[[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] | title = Clause 34: Amendment of law relating to termination of pregnancy | url = https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm198990/cmhansrd/1990-06-21/Debate-15.html |date= 21 June 1990 |column_start= 1178 |column_end= 1209 }}</ref>

The [[Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990]], as enacted, lowered the term limit from 28 to 24 weeks for abortion in cases of 'mental or physical injury' on the ground that medical technology had advanced sufficiently (since 1967) to justify the change but removed restrictions for late abortions in cases of risk to life, grave physical and mental injury to the woman, and the disability in the unborn child (by separating the legal effect of the [[Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929]] from the Abortion Act 1967).

When a further [[Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 2008|Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill]] (now enacted) was considered by Parliament in 2008, several votes were held on the term limit in Britain, as follows:

* Reduction from 24 weeks to 12 weeks (71 ayes, 393 noes);<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2008 — Change abortion limit from 24 weeks to 12 weeks |url=https://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2008-05-20&house=commons&number=199 |website=www.publicwhip.org.uk |publisher=Bairwell Ltd |access-date=11 August 2022}}</ref>
* Reduction from 24 weeks to 16 weeks (84 ayes, 386 noes);<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2008 — Change abortion limit from 24 weeks to 16 weeks |url=https://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2008-05-20&house=commons&number=200 |website=www.thepublicwhip.org.uk |publisher=Bairwell Ltd}}</ref>
* Reduction from 24 weeks to 20 weeks (190 ayes, 331 noes);<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2008 — Change abortion limit from 24 weeks to 20 weeks |url=https://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2008-05-20&house=commons&number=201 |website=www.publicwhip.org.uk |publisher=Bairwell Ltd}}</ref> and
* Reduction from 24 weeks to 22 weeks (233 ayes, 304 noes).<ref>{{cite web |title=Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill 2008 — Change abortion limit from 24 weeks to 22 weeks |url=https://www.publicwhip.org.uk/division.php?date=2008-05-20&house=commons&number=203 |website=www.publicwhip.org.uk |publisher=Bairwell Ltd}}</ref>

[[Abortion rights]] groups strongly opposed any attempts to restrict abortion in the 2008 parliamentary debates and votes.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thefword.org.uk/2008/10/last_chance_-_a/|title=Last chance – Abortion Rights protest tonight|website=The F-Word|date=21 October 2008 |language=en-GB|access-date=2018-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/|title=Abortion Rights|website=Abortion Rights|language=en-GB|access-date=2018-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://pennyred.blogspot.co.uk/2008/01/stand-up-for-pro-choice-majority.html|title=Stand up for the Pro-Choice Majority!|last=Penny|first=Laurie|date=15 January 2008 |language=en-GB|access-date=2018-03-16|author-link=Laurie Penny}}</ref> A number of abortion rights amendments were proposed by the Labour MPs [[Diane Abbott]], [[Katy Clark]] and [[John McDonnell]], including ''NC30 Amendment of the Abortion Act 1967: Application to Northern Ireland''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2008/jul/23/northernireland.law|title=Diane Abbott: A right to choose? Not in Northern Ireland|last=Abbott|first=Diane|date=2008-07-23|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-03-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7520856.stm|title=MPs pushing abortion rights in NI|date=2008-07-23|access-date=2018-03-16|language=en-GB}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200708/cmbills/120/amend/pbc1202210m.3272-3278.html|title=House of Commons Amendments|last=Commons|first=Table Office, House of|website=publications.parliament.uk|access-date=2018-03-16}}</ref> However, it was reported that the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] government at the time asked MPs not to table these amendments (at least until [[third reading]]) and then used parliamentary mechanisms in order to prevent a vote; the government was, at the time, seeking to devolve policing and justice powers to the Northern Ireland Assembly (which had previously voted to oppose the extension of the 1967 Act).<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://labourlist.org/2009/03/harriet-harman-shouldnt-be-blogging-on-international-womens-day-shes-suppressed-womens-rights-for-12-years/|title=Harriet Harman shouldn't be blogging on International Women's Day – she's suppressed women's rights for 12 years|date=2009-03-09|work=LabourList|access-date=2018-03-16|language=en-GB}}</ref>

In 2017, the ''Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill'' was introduced by Labour [[Diana Johnson]] MP with the aim of repealing criminal law on abortion in England and Wales.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill 2016-17 — UK Parliament |url=https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2016-17/reproductivehealthaccesstoterminations.html |access-date=2021-02-03 |website=services.parliament.uk}}</ref> However, with the call for a general election, the bill fell and no further action was taken.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Arnull|first=Liam|date=2018|title=How Brexit Stopped Abortion Being Decriminalised In England And Wales|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/abortion-rights_uk_5b29355fe4b061fc68707f87|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180625013600/https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/abortion-rights_uk_5b29355fe4b061fc68707f87 |archive-date=25 June 2018 |access-date=2021-02-03|website=Huffington Post}}</ref>

Minor amendments to the Abortion Act 1967 have been introduced through government legislation, the most recent being the allowance of abortion consultations through [[telemedicine]] in the [[Health and Care Act 2022]].<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2022-03-30 |title=MPs vote to continue abortion 'pills by post' scheme in England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/30/mps-vote-to-continue-abortion-pills-by-post-scheme-in-england |access-date=2022-06-25 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref>

===Proposals since 1967: Northern Ireland===
Health, social care and criminal justice policy was devolved to the [[Northern Ireland Parliament]] at the time of the Abortion Act 1967's passage at Westminster and the Parliament did not introduce abortion legislation before its suspension in 1972.  Statute law was maintained unchanged under Conservative and Labour [[Direct rule (Northern Ireland)|direct rule administrations]] and the first [[Northern Ireland Assembly (1973)|Northern Ireland Assembly]] in 1973-1974 although the law was interpreted through [[#Case law before 2019|case law]] in local courts (during the 1990s) to also allow for the grounds of "a risk of real and serious adverse effect on{{nbsp}}[...] [the] physical or mental health [of the woman] is either long term or permanent". From 1983 onwards, the [[Constitution of Ireland]], covering the Republic with a territorial claim on Northern Ireland until 1998, acknowledged "the right to life of the unborn and, with due regard to the equal right to life of the mother" and "guaranteed in its laws to respect, and, as far as practicable, by its laws to defend and vindicate that right."<ref>[[Eighth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland]] (approved 1983; repealed 2018)</ref>

The new [[Northern Ireland Assembly]], formed in 1998 following the [[Good Friday Agreement]], voted in June 2000 to oppose the extension of the Abortion Act 1967 to Northern Ireland; the motion was proposed by the [[Democratic Unionist Party]] (DUP) and supported by the [[Social Democratic and Labour Party]] (SDLP) which was, at the time, opposed to abortion but also emphasised an understanding of the social, economic and personal circumstances that gave rise to women choosing the option of an abortion.<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Report, 20 June 2000 |url=http://archive.niassembly.gov.uk/record/reports/000620d.htm |website=www.niassembly.gov.uk |publisher=Northern Ireland Assembly |access-date=16 August 2022 |date=20 June 2000 |quote=That this Assembly is opposed to the extension of the Abortion Act 1967 to Northern Ireland.}}</ref> While health policy had been devolved again to Northern Ireland in December 1999, on the formation of the first [[Northern Ireland Executive]], criminal law (including in relation to abortion) continued to be reserved to Parliament at Westminster until the devolution of policing and justice powers in May 2010.<ref>{{OGL-attribution|version=3.0|{{cite web |title=Northern Ireland Act 1998 (Amendment of Schedule 3) Order 2010: Explanatory Note |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2010/977/note/made |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=16 August 2022}}}}</ref>

Political debate around abortion issues was renewed following the opening of a private abortion clinic in Belfast in 2012, the [[Protection of Life During Pregnancy Act 2013]] in the Republic, and the widespread discussion of a case of fatal foetal abnormality; several debates took place in the Northern Ireland Assembly and its members, in line with party policy and/or personal conscience, decided not to proceed with changes in the law.<ref name="SW_051212">{{cite news | last = Harkin | first = Shaun | title = The struggle for abortion rights in Ireland | url = http://socialistworker.org/2012/12/05/abortion-rights-in-ireland | work = [[Socialist Worker#United Kingdom|Socialist Worker]] | date = 5 December 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title = Time for change in Northern Ireland | url = http://www.fpa.org.uk/abortion-rights/abortion-in-northern-ireland | website = fpa.org.uk | publisher = [[Family Planning Association]] | access-date = 3 November 2014 | archive-date = 3 November 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141103175821/http://www.fpa.org.uk/abortion-rights/abortion-in-northern-ireland | url-status = dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web| last = AP|author-link=Associated Press|title=Protests as Ireland's 1st abortion clinic opens|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/10/18/ireland-abortion/1641323/|work=[[USA Today]]|date=18 October 2012}}</ref> An amendment by DUP MLA [[Jim Wells (politician)|Jim Wells]] to "restrict lawful abortions to NHS premises, except in cases of urgency when access to NHS premises is not possible and where no fee is paid" was unsuccessful.<ref>{{cite hansard |jurisdiction=Northern Ireland |house=[[Northern Ireland Executive]] | title = Amendment, new clause 'Ending the life of an unborn child' ''(Criminal Justice Bill Marshalled List of Amendments Further Consideration Stage)'' | url = http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/legislation/2011-2016-mandate/primary-legislation-current-bills/criminal-justice-bill/criminal-justice-bill-marshalled-list-of-amendments-further-consideration-stage/ | speaker = [[Jim Wells (politician)|Jim Wells]] | position = Member of the [[Northern Ireland Assembly]] for [[South Down (Assembly constituency)|South Down]] |date= 5 March 2013 }} [https://web.archive.org/web/20141103165614/http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/Documents/Justice/Justice-Bill/Amendment-by-J-Wells.pdf Archived 3 November 2014.]</ref><ref>{{cite book | title = Justice Act – Jim Wells' amendment: Submission to the Northern Ireland Assembly Justice Committee | url = https://www.amnesty.org.uk/sites/default/files/aiuk_justice_ctte_submission_justice_act_jim_wells_amendment_2014_0.pdf | publisher = [[Amnesty International]] | date = September 2014}}</ref> Later, as Health Minister, Jim Wells opposed abortion in cases of rape as the unborn child would be "punished for what has happened by having their life terminated" although he acknowledged that this would be "a tragic and difficult situation".<ref>{{cite news | last = McDonald | first = Henry | title = Northern Ireland gets health minister who opposes abortion for raped women | url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2014/sep/23/northern-ireland-health-minister-jim-wells-opposed-abortion-raped-women | work =[[The Guardian]] | date = 23 September 2014 }}</ref>

Justice Minister [[David Ford (politician)|David Ford]] (a member of the [[Alliance Party of Northern Ireland|Alliance Party]]) issued a public consultation on amending the criminal law on abortion, which opened in October 2014 and closed in January 2015.<ref name="dojni-consultation">{{cite book | title = The Criminal Law on Abortion – ''Lethal Foetal Abnormality and Sexual Crime'': A Consultation on Amending the Law by the Department of Justice | publisher = [[Department of Justice (Northern Ireland)|Department of Justice, Northern Ireland]] | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141103175751/http://www.dojni.gov.uk/index/public-consultations/current-consultations/the-criminal-law-on-abortion-lethal-foetal-abnormality-and-sexual-crime.pdf | archive-date = 3 November 2014 | url = http://www.dojni.gov.uk/index/public-consultations/current-consultations/the-criminal-law-on-abortion-lethal-foetal-abnormality-and-sexual-crime.pdf }}</ref> However, Ford also wrote that "it is not a debate on the wider issues of abortion law – issues often labelled as 'pro-choice' and 'pro-life'".<ref name="dojni-consultation"/> The [[Sinn Féin]] [[First Minister and deputy First Minister|deputy First Minister]], [[Martin McGuinness]], had initially stated his party's opposition to abortion and noted that the party had "resisted any attempt to bring the British 1967 Abortion Act to the North."<ref name="SW_051212" /> At its 2015 annual conference, Sinn Féin adopted a policy of allowing abortion under certain circumstances such as fatal foetal abnormality; this was superseded by a newer and more liberal policy adopted at its 2018 conference.<ref>{{cite news|last1=McDonald|first1=Henry | title = Sinn Féin drops opposition to abortion at Derry congress |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/07/sinn-fein-drops-opposition-to-abortion-at-derry-congress|work=[[The Guardian]]| date = 7 March 2015}}</ref>

In February 2016, during debates on the ''Justice (No.2) Bill'', the Assembly considered and debated an amendment to allow for abortion in cases of pregnancies caused by sexual crime (which was rejected by 64 notes to 32 ayes), and an amendment to allow for abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormality (which was rejected by 59 noes to 40 ayes). [[Sinn Féin]] and the [[Green Party in Northern Ireland|Green Party]] voted in favour of both proposals whereas the DUP and the SDLP supported the existing law and members of the [[Ulster Unionist Party]] (UUP) and [[Alliance Party of Northern Ireland|Alliance Party]] voted on conscience.<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Report, 10 February 2016 |url=http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/officialreport/report.aspx?&amp;eveDate=2016/02/10&amp;docID=258728#1950918 |website=www.niassembly.gov.uk |publisher=Northern Ireland Assembly |access-date=16 August 2022}}</ref> The ''Abortion (Fatal Foetal Abnormality) Bill'' was introduced by [[David Ford (politician)|David Ford]], as a backbench MLA, in December 2016 but fell on the suspension of the Assembly in January 2017.<ref>{{cite web |title=Abortion (Fatal Foetal Abnormality) Bill |url=http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/legislation/2016-2017-mandate/non-executive-bill-proposals/abortion-ffa/ |website=www.niassembly.gov.uk |date = 2016 |publisher=Northern Ireland Assembly |access-date=16 August 2022}}</ref>

In the [[2017 United Kingdom general election|2017 UK general election]], the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] manifesto under the leadership of [[Jeremy Corbyn]] MP stated: "Labour will continue to ensure a woman's right to choose a safe, legal abortion – and we will work with the Assembly to extend that right to women in Northern Ireland."<ref>{{cite book |title=For the many not the few |date=2017 |publisher=Labour Party |location=London |page=109 |url=https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/labour-manifesto-2017.pdf |access-date=16 August 2022 |archive-date=21 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200721070933/https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/labour-manifesto-2017.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> The election resulted in a [[Conservative–DUP agreement|confidence and supply agreement]] between the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] and the (DUP). The Conservative Government, in June 2017, made a commitment to provide free abortion services in England for women from Northern Ireland due to pressure from Conservative MPs.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/23/northern-irish-women-offered-free-abortion-services-in-england|title=Northern Irish women offered free abortion services in England|last=Elgot|first=Jessica|date=2017-10-23|website=The Guardian|language=en|access-date=2018-03-16}}</ref> The Labour Party commitment was, in effect, delivered through [[#Changes in law: 2019–2020|private member's amendments enacted in the '''Northern Ireland Executive (Formation) Act 2019''']], which repealed the [[Offences against the Person Act 1861]] (sections 58 and 59) in October 2019. The political context was also changed by [[#Case law before 2019|legal challenges]], the [[Thirty-sixth Amendment of the Constitution of Ireland|repeal of the Eighth Amendment]] in the Republic in 2018 (supported by Sinn Féin), and the SDLP's decision to [[#Political party approaches|consider abortion as a matter of conscience]].

Shortly after the introduction of the '''Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020''', the newly restored Northern Ireland Assembly voted – with 46 members in favour and 40 against – to reject "the imposition of abortion legislation that extends to all non-fatal disabilities, including Down's syndrome."<ref>{{cite web |title=Official Report, 2 June 2020 |url=http://aims.niassembly.gov.uk/officialreport/report.aspx?eveDate=2020/06/02&docID=301413#2838527 |website=www.niassembly.gov.uk |publisher=Northern Ireland Assembly |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref> Following this vote, the ''Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment) Bill'' – to remove the grounds for abortion for non-fatal disabilities – was introduced by DUP MLA [[Paul Givan]] in February 2021. It reached its consideration stage in December 2021 but MLAs decided – by 45 votes to 43 – against the main proposal in the Bill at that stage.<ref>{{cite web |title=Severe Fetal Impairment Abortion (Amendment) Bill |url=http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/assembly-business/legislation/2017-2022-mandate/non-executive-bill-proposals/severe-fetal-impairment-abortion-amendment-bill/ |website=www.niassembly.gov.uk |publisher=Northern Ireland Assembly |access-date=24 December 2021}}</ref>