Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 Section 3(5) Debate

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Department: Scotland Office

Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 Section 3(5)

Chi Onwurah Excerpts
Wednesday 16th October 2019

(5 years, 1 month ago)

Commons Chamber
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Robin Walker Portrait Mr Walker
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Yes, I would agree with the hon. Lady and her intervention. I want to give other Members the chance to speak in this debate, so I will touch briefly on the other sections covered in the publication.

Chi Onwurah Portrait Chi Onwurah (Newcastle upon Tyne Central) (Lab)
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Further to the previous discussion, the Minister will be aware that the UN said that the UK was effectively torturing the women of Northern Ireland by not enabling them to secure an abortion if they had a fatal foetal abnormality or were pregnant due to rape or incest. Will the Minister commit that that torture will be stopped by March 2020 at the latest?

Robin Walker Portrait Mr Walker
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I have been absolutely clear that we will bring forward this legislation. Clearly, if the Executive were restored, it would be for them to take action on this matter, but we are talking about a matter of days. We are taking forward the necessary steps to ensure that we can put the regulations into place, as the hon. Lady says, by March 2020.