Sinn Féin backs access to abortion up to 12 weeks

Sinn Féin’s annual ard fhéis has voted to bring the party’s policy on abortion in line with the recommendations of the joint Oireachtas committee on the Eighth Amendment.

The decision, made over the weekend in Belfast, will likely ensure the success in the Oireachtas of the Government’s legislative proposals.

It also marks a serious shift in Sinn Féin’s position north of the border, where it has previously been reluctant to commit to such far-reaching abortion law reform.

Michelle O’Neill, vice-president of Sinn Féin and its leader in the Northern Ireland Assembly, said there are “sincere strongly held views, but we must face the reality that the lives of some women are placed at a real and substantial risk due to their pregnancy”.

She added that Sinn Féin representatives would be expected to vote in favour of the party’s newly-agreed policy.

Ms O’Neill told the ard fhéis: “It is possible for individual members to have their own views on this issue but it is also important that the party has a position, that people know what it is and as legislators that it is something that we vote for together.

“The buck stops when our legislators go to act on this in the Dáil and the Assembly. We must speak with one voice and implement the will of the people.

“We are unique amongst the parties in that our members decide our policy. We must respect that and recognise that we are not independents - we are Sinn Féin elected representatives first and foremost.”