London (CNN) At the stroke of midnight on Monday, Northern Ireland's restrictive abortion and same-sex marriage laws came to an end, after the region failed to restore its power-sharing executive that collapsed more than 1,000 days ago. Campaigners on both sides of the debate gathered outside Northern Ireland's parliament building in Stormont on Monday, ahead of momentous reforms to some of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world. Abortion rules contravene UK human rights lawsDespite abortion being legalized in the UK when the 1967 Abortion Act was passed, it has never been extended to Northern Ireland -- where a law from 1861 still exists. The legislative actions by Westminster bring Northern Ireland's laws into line with the rest of the UK. The case was heard by Justice Keegan after Sarah Ewart challenged the law having been denied an abortion in Northern Ireland in 2013, even though doctors had said her unborn child would not survive outside the womb.

Source: CNN October 22, 2019 08:48 UTC