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

Lord Hain Excerpts

Monday 15th June 2020 Lords Chamber

[Lord Hain (Lab) [V]]

My Lords, while I respect the views of others who disagree on this highly sensitive issue, as the referendum on abortion bringing radical change in the Republic of Ireland showed, there is now huge pressure on the island of Ireland for women’s rights. That was the impetus behind the change legislated for by this Parliament under the 2019 Act. I am sorry, but it is no good some local Assembly Members complaining. While they squabbled, refusing to do their jobs and instead maintaining Stormont in ignominious suspension for three years, the world moved on without them.

Women in Northern Ireland are now entitled to the same rights as in all other parts of the United Kingdom, and it is our statutory obligation to implement these regulations helping to set out the legal framework for services that will bring Northern Ireland into line with the rest of the UK and meet the requirements of Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.