Q&A What is the law on abortion in Northern Ireland? The UK Abortion Act of 1967 was never extended to Northern Ireland, and abortion remains illegal unless the life or mental health of the mother is at risk. Northern Ireland has the harshest criminal penalty for abortion anywhere in Europe; in theory, life imprisonment can be handed down to a woman undergoing an unlawful abortion. Most politicians in Northern Ireland – Catholic and Protestant – do not favour reform, despite the UN saying the UK was violating the rights of women in Northern Ireland by restricting their access to abortion. In 2016 more than 700 women from Northern Ireland crossed the Irish Sea to clinics in Britain to terminate pregnancies.

Source: The Guardian May 27, 2018 12:31 UTC