In 1939, the Birkett Committee was created by the government to clarify whether doctors could perform an abortion to save a woman`s life, but its work was interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. The Abortion Act was amended in 1990 by the Human Fertilization and Embryology Act. The amendments allowed abortion for the following reasons: Northern Ireland`s abortion law was amended by Parliament during a suspension of the Northern Ireland executive between 2017 and 2020. Recommendations on the liberalisation of abortion law in Northern Ireland were published in February 2018 by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) in its inquiry report on the UK (under Article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women). [93] In February 2016, during debates on the Justice Bill (No. 2), the Assembly considered and debated an amendment allowing abortion in cases of pregnancy caused by sexual crimes (which was rejected by 64 votes to 32) and an amendment allowing abortion in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities (which was rejected by 59 votes to 40). Sinn Féin and the Greens voted in favour of both proposals, while the DUP and SDLP backed the existing law and members of the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Alliance Party voted according to their conscience. [56] The Abortion (Fatal Fetal Abnormality) Act was introduced in December 2016 by David Ford as a backbencher, but was suspended in the Assembly in January 2017. [57] In 1939, the Interdepartmental Committee on Abortion, established by the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Health, recommended a change in abortion laws, but the intervention of World War II resulted in all plans being put on hold. After the war, after decades of stagnation, some high-profile tragedies, including unborn child disabilities caused by thalidomide, and social changes brought the issue of abortion back into the political arena. Westminster`s responsibility for criminal justice and health policy, including abortion, on the island of Ireland was transferred to the Parliament of Northern Ireland (when it was created in 1921) and the Parliament of the Irish Free State (established in December 1922).

Both legislators took an essentially conservative stance, considering abortion an offence against the person or an offence of child destruction, in accordance with the legislation in force in England and Wales. The death of a person caused by an unlawful attempt to induce an abortion is, at the very least, manslaughter. [74] [75] Therefore, it would be perfectly reasonable for a physician to decide that a woman who imagines an abortion and says she cannot afford to continue the pregnancy can legitimately benefit from the abortion, as the refusal could have relatively negative consequences on her health. Ninety-four per cent of abortions in the UK are performed under Clause C of the Abortion Act 1967, which prohibits abortion in the 24th grade. Week of pregnancy on the grounds that abortion is a relatively safe procedure and pregnancy is more dangerous than not being pregnant. One percent is performed for fetal abnormalities and 1% for medical complications in the mother. In 2000, the number of abortions per 1000 women of reproductive age was significantly higher in the United States (24.5) than in the United Kingdom (16.9). However, this difference may reflect the relative availability of contraceptives rather than existing legislation. An abortion is only legal if it is performed by a licensed doctor and approved by two independent doctors. The abortion law requires two doctors to decide “in good faith” that a woman meets the legal requirements for an abortion.

It also requires the government to make other arrangements for the certification of such decisions. In Northern Ireland, a woman can only legally have an abortion if the continuation of the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother`s life in the short or long term or affects the mother`s mental health to such an extent that she would become a danger to her own life by committing suicide. Unlike obstetrics, if a woman wants to continue a pregnancy, abortions are not automatically possible via the NHS. On average, the NHS pays for just under three-quarters (74%) of abortions in England and Wales. There are considerable differences between regions. In some areas, the NHS pays for more than 90% of abortions, in other areas less than 50%. The law criminalized the deliberate destruction of a child who “may be born alive.” This was to fill a loophole identified by Lord Darling that allowed infants to be killed during birth, which would mean that the perpetrator could not be prosecuted for either abortion or murder. [18] The law contained the presumption that all children in utero over 28 weeks of pregnancy can be born alive. If a child`s life ended in utero before that pregnancy, evidence was presented and considered to determine whether or not the child could be born alive. In 1987, the Court of Appeal rejected an injunction to prevent an abortion, ruling that a fetus between 18 and 21 weeks of age could not be born alive. [19] [20] In May 2007, a woman from Levenshulme, Manchester, who had an illegal late-term abortion at 7+1⁄2 months in early 2006, was convicted of child destruction under the Child Life Conservation Act 1929.

[21] The Democratic Unionist Party and the Traditional Unionist Voice supported the pre-2019 abortion law and opposed the changes introduced by the Northern Ireland Executive Formation Act. [101] [102] DUP MP Paul Givan introduced the Abortion for Serious Fetal Injury (Amendment) Bill in 2021, which sought to eliminate the reason for abortion in cases of severe disability of the unborn child. The highest number of abortions is recorded among women aged 20 to 24. However, much attention has been paid to adolescent girls, as England and Wales have one of the highest teen pregnancy rates for 15-19 year olds in Western Europe. Arguably, section 1 would still make abortion legal because two doctors formed a good faith opinion. Im 19. Jahrhundert und Anfang des 20. In the nineteenth century, a number of laws were introduced to reduce access to legal abortion. These laws effectively controlled women`s lives until 1967. But, of course, they did not prevent an unwanted pregnancy or the need for an abortion.

Thousands of women have resorted to abortion workers, permanently harming their health or dying. Newspapers advertised remedies for “menstrual blockages,” but the women knew they were abortifacient. Many of them were ineffective and also toxic; One of the cheapest, a lead-based potion, has poisoned and blinded many women. The main legislation on abortion in England, Scotland and Wales is the Abortion Act 1967, as amended by the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act 1990. In the UK, abortion for socio-economic reasons is generally allowed during the first 24 weeks of pregnancy (a later period than in most other European countries) and thereafter for medical reasons. For example, if two doctors believe in good faith that an abortion poses a lower risk to a woman`s physical or mental health than a pregnancy to the end, the abortion becomes legal – even though it would have been safer to carry the pregnancy to term in that case (for example, if the abortion resulted in death or injury). If a woman indicates that she does not have the means to continue the pregnancy, the doctor is not obliged to check whether she really lacks financial resources. The legitimacy or non-legitimacy of induced abortion has been influenced by social, political and medical perceptions. From 13. Until the early 19th century, induced abortion was legal under English common law before acceleration began at 15 to 18 weeks of pregnancy.

However, causing the death of a child living in utero was considered murder. The law fundamentally changed in 1803, making any attempt to induce an abortion in every pregnancy with a harmful or destructive substance a capital crime, especially because abortion was considered a great danger to women`s health.