Women in Northern Ireland don’t need a consultation – they need their government to act.

Northern Ireland’s justice minister has announced today that there will be a public consultation on changing the abortion law to allow pregnant women who have received a diagnosis of fatal foetal abnormality to have a termination in their own country. The consultation may also cover abortion in cases of rape or incest.

Northern Irish women with a diagnosis of foetal anomaly in pregnancy are devastated by being forced to travel to England to get the care they need. These cases are some of the most heart-breaking we see. The Northern Ireland Assembly needs to act now so that women already in the most harrowing of circumstances can access the help they need at home, with their loved ones nearby.