Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020

Lord Bruce of Bennachie Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Bruce of Bennachie (LD) [V]]

My Lords, these regulations emerge at the end of a drawn-out process. Yes, it is a conscience issue and a difficult one, and people will express, and have expressed, their own views and will no doubt vote accordingly. Yet I point out that these supporters of the amendments are mostly opposed to abortion in almost any circumstances. I believe that these regulations represent a crucial step in the rights of the women of Northern Ireland, which also featured little in the pro-amendment speeches.

During the three years when Northern Ireland was denied a functioning Assembly and Executive, the unfairness and dysfunctionality of the abortion law in Northern Ireland came under increasing strain. Consultation and a referendum led to a radical change of the law in the Republic, and the Supreme Court made it clear that the lack of a clear law on abortion in Northern Ireland was in breach of human rights. The CEDAW convention certainly may not mention abortion, but it absolutely talks about the criminalisation of abortion—or rather it does not, but its interpretation views it—as a clear discrimination against women, which CEDAW is obviously there to uphold against. The gap between the law in Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom is putting women in Northern Ireland under intense and unfair pressure. It effectively was exporting abortion services to Great Britain and, as has been said, not every woman was able to or could afford to access that route.

Had the Assembly been in operation over the past three years, it would have had to address this issue. Had it done so, Members of the Executive could not have ignored the Government’s support of CEDAW and its inference, nor could they have ignored the Supreme Court judgment. The British Parliament had no choice but to recognise its responsibility and, indeed, the wish of a huge swathe of opinion across Northern Ireland. The anomaly in the law created pressure for this UK Parliament to act, which it has done. These regulations are the last step in bringing about the change to the law, and it is important to stress that their application rests on the rigorous standards of the health professionals who, in my view, appear to have been impugned by some of the speeches made today.

There are two ironies to be noted. The nationalists now find that, had the law not changed, the north would have been significantly out of step with the Republic. Unionists, by contrast, can hardly maintain their insistence on being thirled to the United Kingdom but not accept that basic human rights must be uniform across the UK. On a practical point, very little has yet changed for women in the north seeking an abortion, although the noble Lord, Lord Dubs, indicated that a start has been made.

Can the Minister give an update on what abortion services are now being made available to women in Northern Ireland? Can he indicate what guidance can be given to women needing access to abortion pills? Will he acknowledge the stress that women face approaching the 12-week deadline—or indeed, any deadline—while lockdown continues? Is it not safer to give online advice to take pills safely at home, with appropriate guidance, rather than force women to travel to access services and take greater risks of infection—or, indeed, if they are unable to do that, face being prevented from travelling and being unable to access the service they need at all?

These regulations are a necessary instrument to deliver the change in the law which this Parliament has supported and for which the Northern Ireland Assembly has abdicated its responsibility for over three years. Indeed, if the amendments were upheld, there would be no law of abortion functioning in Northern Ireland. Neither those who wish for a regulated and proper form of abortion nor those who are opposed to abortion would have the law on their side. Therefore, it is imperative that we support the regulations and reject the amendments.