NI secretary can direct establishment of abortion services, judge rules

The Northern Ireland secretary has the legal authority to direct the establishment of abortion services in the region, a judge as ruled at Belfast High Court.

Mr Justice Colton rejected a challenge by the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) to Brandon Lewis’ powers to impose a deadline on Stormont for putting in place a centralised system.

The group claimed that only elected representatives in Northern Ireland should be able to decide on the issue. But the judge held that Mr Lewis was compelled to take the step after a United Nations body found the UK had breached the rights of women in Northern Ireland by limiting access to abortions.

“Not only was the secretary of state empowered to make regulations, but he was obliged to do so and remains obliged to do so where it appears to him further changes in the law of Northern Ireland are necessary or appropriate for complying with his duties,” he said. “Only parliament can change this.”

The ruling represents the latest stage in an ongoing battle over Northern Ireland’s abortion laws.

MPs passed legislation in 2019 to decriminalise terminations while power-sharing at Stormont was going through a long hiatus. But a model for operating a system across Northern Ireland is yet to be put in place.

Legal duty

The court previously held in a separate case brought by the NI Human Rights Commission that the secretary of state failed in his legal duty to “expeditiously” provide women with access to full services.

Under the liberalised laws, terminations are allowed in Northern Ireland in the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, and in limited circumstances up to 24 weeks.

The regime change brought in by Westminster followed a report by the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women, which found their rights were being breached by limited access to services. Under the terms of the 2019 Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, the secretary of state had to implement the committee’s recommendations.

Amid the continuing impasse, Westminster issued a direction last July for the Department of Health to set up full abortion services by March of this year.