Some women may find it easier to get an abortion in Northern Ireland, after a ruling handed down by the High Court in Belfast.
The BBC reports that abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland except in circumstances where the mother’s life or health would be at serious risk.
Nurses and doctors can be imprisoned for providing abortions in other circumstances. Hundreds of women from Northern Ireland are thought to travel to Britain for abortions every year.
The High Court ruled that the Northern Ireland provisions are ‘incompatible with human rights.’
The case was taken to the court by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, which wants abortion rights extended to women in cases of rape, incest, and fatal fetal abnormality.
Northern Ireland’s Attorney General John Larkin said in a brief statement that he was “profoundly disappointed” by the decision and was “considering the grounds for appeal”.
