Jennifer Thomson, A court just made a landmark ruling for abortion rights in Northern Ireland

3 December 2015 PhD candidate Jennifer Thomson discusses the Belfast High Court’s landmark ruling that Northern Ireland can no longer withhold abortions from women who have been the victims of rape or incest, or whose pregnancies involve a fatal foetal abnormality. Northern Ireland was not included in the original 1967 legislation that allows for legal terminations in England, Scotland and Wales. As a result, abortion is incredibly restricted in the province. It is only legal when there is a risk to the long-term physical or mental health of the woman. This means that an average of 1,000 women travel every year to access terminations, mostly to England.
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