The high court in Belfast 02 June, 2021 15:20
PRO-life campaigners have won High Court permission to challenge new powers allowing the secretary of state to direct the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) was granted leave to seek a judicial review of regulations which give Brandon Lewis authority to step in.
Mr Justice Colton ruled today that an arguable case has been established and listed a full hearing for the end of this month.
The proceedings represent the latest stage in ongoing legal battles over Northern Ireland s abortion laws.
In 2019 MPs at Westminster liberalised the regime during a period when Stormont s power-sharing administration had collapsed.
Any direction from Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis to Stormont to commission abortion services would be a “fundamental intrusion” into devolution, the High Court in Belfast has been told.
The claim was made on the final day of a judicial review brought by the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission against the Secretary of State, as well as the Northern Ireland Executive and the region’s Department of Health over delays in abortion law implementation.
Abortion laws in Northern Ireland were liberalised in 2019 following legislation passed by Westminster at a time when the power-sharing government in the region had collapsed.
However, while individual health trusts have been offering services on an ad-hoc basis, the Department of Health has yet to centrally commission the services.
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