Editing Abortion in the United Kingdom (section)

=== Changes in law: 2019–2020 ===
The law on abortion in Northern Ireland was changed by [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]] during a suspension of the [[Northern Ireland Executive]], which took place between 2017 and 2020. Recommendations to liberalise abortion law in Northern Ireland were published in February 2018 by the [[United Nations]] [[Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women]] (CEDAW) in the report of its Inquiry concerning the United Kingdom (under Article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the [[Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women]]).<ref>{{cite web |last1=Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) |title=Report of the inquiry concerning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women |url=https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/treatybodyexternal/Download.aspx?symbolno=CEDAW%2fC%2fOP.8%2fGBR%2f1&Lang=en |website=www.ohchr.org |publisher=Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) |access-date=24 December 2021 |date=23 February 2018}}</ref>

The '''[[Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019]]''', enacted on 24 July 2019, extended the deadline for the restoration of the Executive to 21 October 2019. Under a private member's amendment introduced by [[Stella Creasy]] MP, if an Executive were not restored by that date, the Act would:

* require the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to implement recommendations regarding abortion made in the CEDAW report;
* repeal sections 58 and 59 of the [[Offences Against the Person Act 1861]] under the law of Northern Ireland; and
* require the Secretary of State, by regulation, to make further changes in the law for complying with the recommendations with those regulations coming into force on 31 March 2020.<ref name=2019act>{{OGL-attribution|version=3.0|{{cite web |title=Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, section 9 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2019/22/section/9 |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=21 August 2019}}}}</ref>

On 21 October 2019, as a result of the Executive not being restored, sections 58 and 59 of the 1861 Act were repealed.<ref>{{cite news |title=Northern Ireland abortion and same-sex marriage laws change |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-50128860 |publisher= BBC News |access-date=3 February 2020}}</ref> Legal protection for the life of a child who was "capable of being born alive" continued under the [[Criminal Justice Act (Northern Ireland) 1945]].

The Executive was restored in January 2020, but since this was past the deadline of 21 October 2019, legislation on abortion continued to be implemented through Westminster. The '''Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020''' were laid before Parliament on 25 March 2020 and took effect on 31 March 2020.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McCormack |first1=Jayne |title=NI to offer unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-52040694 |access-date=25 March 2020 |work=BBC News |date=25 March 2020}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Changes to the law in Northern Ireland: updated information |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/changes-to-the-law-in-northern-ireland-updated-information |website=GOV.UK |access-date=25 March 2020 |language=en}}</ref> The Regulations allowed for abortion in Northern Ireland in the following circumstances:

* where the pregnancy has not exceeded its twelfth week;
* a risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman (up to a term limit of 24 weeks);
* a risk to life or risk of grave permanent injury to physical or mental health of the pregnant woman;
* a severe fetal impairment – "a substantial risk that if the child were born, it would suffer from such physical or mental impairment as to be seriously disabled" (with no term limit); or
* a fatal fetal abnormality – "a substantial risk that the death of the fetus is likely before, during or shortly after birth" (with no term limit).<ref name=2020niregsinitial>{{OGL-attribution|version=3.0|{{cite web |title=Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 |url=https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2020/345/contents/made |website=www.legislation.gov.uk |publisher=National Archives |access-date=15 August 2022}}}}</ref>

A person who intentionally terminates or procures the termination of a pregnancy other than in accordance with the Regulations commits an offence; this does not apply to a pregnant woman or where the act which caused the termination was done in good faith for the purpose only of saving the woman's life or preventing grave permanent injury. The 1945 Act remains in law, including the offence of child destruction, although this no longer applies to a pregnant woman, or a registered medical professional acting in accordance with the Regulations.<ref name=2020niregsinitial />

The Regulations were replaced by the '''Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020''', which were materially the same with minor corrections and came into force on 14 May 2020.<ref name=2020niregsfinal /> In May 2022, just over two years after the change in the law, it was reported that abortion clinics and treatments available in Northern Ireland were limited and women seeking to have abortions continued to travel to Great Britain (mainly England).<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-05-04 |title=Abortion services in Northern Ireland almost non-existent despite legalisation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/may/04/abortion-services-in-northern-ireland-almost-nonexistent-despite-legalisation |access-date=2022-06-28 |website=The Guardian |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Mallis |first=Adam |date=2023-02-28 |title=Abortion in the UK - Medical Interview Hot Topics {{!}} TheUKCATPeople |url=https://www.theukcatpeople.co.uk/post/abortion-uk-nhs-medicine-interview-hot-topics |access-date=2023-03-05 |website=The UKCAT People |language=en}}</ref> By 2024, abortion services were now available in all five hospital trusts in Northern Ireland, enabling the majority of demand to be met locally.<ref>{{cite news |last=Carroll |first=Rory |date=2024-03-21 |title=Siege days are over: how Northern Ireland came to lead the UK on abortion |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/21/how-northern-ireland-came-to-lead-the-uk-on-abortion |access-date=2024-05-06 |work=The Guardian |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>