In recent months, the Department of Justice (DOJ) for Northern Ireland has embarked on a process of legislative consultation on the possible decriminalization and legalization of abortion in cases of “lethal foetal abnormality and sexual crime.” While this initiative is, in principle, a positive move towards removing criminal sanction for accessing reproductive health care, the underlying stigma around abortion and the lack of legal clarity on the circumstances in which abortion is permitted in Northern Ireland, continues to have a damaging impact on women and girls’ human rights.
