LONDON - British Prime Minister Theresa
May faced demands from ministers and lawmakers in her
Conservative party to reform Northern Ireland's highly
restrictive abortion rules after neighbouring Ireland's vote to
liberalise its laws.
Voters in Ireland, a once deeply Catholic nation, backed the
change by two-to-one, a far higher margin than any opinion poll
in the run up to the vote had predicted.
Penny Mordaunt, Britain's women and equalities minister,
said that the victory to legalise abortion should now bring
change north of the Irish border.
"A historic and great day for Ireland and a hopeful one for
Northern Ireland," Mordaunt said. "That hope must be met."
Northern Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion
laws in Europe with even rape and fatal foetal abnormality not
considered legal grounds for a termination. And unlike other
parts of the United Kingdom, abortions are banned apart from
when the life or mental health of the mother is in danger.
Since the collapse of a power sharing administration in
Northern Ireland at the beginning of last year, British
officials have been taking major decisions in the region.
But any moves to change the law could destabilise the
British government by antagonising the socially conservative
Democratic Unionist Party, which May depends on for her
parliamentary majority.
More than 130 members of Britain's parliament, including
lawmakers in the ruling Conservative party, are prepared to back
an amendment to a new domestic violence bill to allow abortions
in Northern Ireland, the Sunday Times newspaper reported.
Anne Milton, an education minister, on Sunday urged the
prime minister to allow a free vote in parliament.
Sarah Wollaston, the chair of the health select committee
and a lawmaker in May's party, said she would support the
proposed amendment and said Northern Ireland should at least be
given a vote to decide.
A spokeswoman for May said changing the rules on abortion is
a decision that should be taken by a devolved assembly and the
government is working to revive the power-sharing agreement.
Northern Ireland's elected assembly has the right to bring
its abortion laws in line with the rest of Britain, but voted
against doing so in February 2016 and the assembly has not sat
since the devolved government collapsed in January 2017.