Abortion

English prosecutors have dropped a case against a 25-year-old woman accused of illegally procuring an abortion. The woman was reported to police after she underwent an emergency caesarean section 31 weeks into her pregnancy and was found to have evidence of abortion pills in her system.

The UK Supreme Court has cleared the way for the enactment of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) (Northern Ireland) Bill after ruling it does not infringe on the right to freedom of assembly under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court found that placing limitations on wher

Legislation creating protest-free buffer zones around abortion clinics in Northern Ireland is compatible with European human rights laws, the UK Supreme Court has unanimously ruled. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill was referred to the court in May by the Attorney General for Northern I

The UK government has formally commissioned abortion services in Northern Ireland after the continued failure of the devolved Department of Health to do so. Northern Ireland secretary Chris Heaton-Harris wrote to the Department following the UK government's announcement in October that it would step

The UK government has announced it will commission abortion services in Northern Ireland following the failure of the devolved Department of Health to do so. The commissioning of abortion services follows the making of regulations in May 2022 which provided the UK government with the same powers as

The general scheme of legislation which will ban anti-abortion protests from taking place within 100 metres of healthcare providers has been published. Ministers agreed to the drafting of the Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services (Safe Access Zones)) Bill last week and the general scheme was pub

Anti-abortion protests will be banned from taking place within 100 metres of healthcare providers under new legislation designed to safeguard access to abortion services. The general scheme of the proposed legislation on "safe access zones" will be published by the Department of Health in the coming

The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission (NIHRC) has been granted leave to intervene in the UK Supreme Court case concerning the introduction of safe access zones around abortion clinics in Northern Ireland. The Attorney General for Northern Ireland has asked the court to look at whether the Abo

Human rights organisation JUSTICE has been granted permission to intervene in a UK Supreme Court case concerning the introduction of safe access zones around abortion clinics in Northern Ireland. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill, which was approved by MLAs in March, has been referred t

The UK government has taken further legislative steps to ensure that abortion services are commissioned in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health and the Northern Ireland Executive were last summer given a 31 March 2022 deadline to ensure access to abortion services, which they have missed.

Legislation creating protest-free buffer zones around abortion clinics in Northern Ireland has been referred to the UK Supreme Court to determine whether it is compatible with European human rights laws. The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill was approved by MLAs shortly before the Assembly

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) has launched an investigation into the leaking of a draft opinion overturning the landmark 1973 case of Roe v Wade, which is expected to significantly narrow access to abortion in the United States. The court yesterday confirmed that the document

A leaked draft judgment has shown that the US Supreme Court may overturn the landmark 1973 case of Roe v Wade, which guaranteed access to abortions. The opinion, written by Republican-appointed judge, Justice Samuel Alito, was published by Politico in what is an unprecedented leak from the court.

A written statement issued yesterday from the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland sets out that the UK government is preparing regulations to directly commission abortion services in Northern Ireland if progress is not made directly following the Assembly elections in May. This follows a previou

Colombia's top court has ruled that abortion during the first 24 weeks of a pregnancy is not a crime. The landmark ruling was approved by the Latin American country's Constitutional Court by 5-4 and has been welcomed by human rights campaigners.