Theresa May says she backs 'safe, legal abortion' amid row over Northern Ireland laws
3 min read
Theresa May has expressed her personal support for "safe, legal abortion" amid a heated row over the rights of women in Northern Ireland to access terminations.
Calls for a shake-up Northern Ireland's strict anti-abortion rules have been growing since voters in the Republic of Ireland ditched a constitutional curb on the procedures in a landmark referendum last month.
In her first direct remarks on the row, the Prime Minister told reporters travelling to the the G7 summit in Canada: "I believe that a woman should be able to access safe, legal abortion."
But Mrs May continued to resist calls to intervene in the region's affairs and insisted reform was a matter for the devolved government there - which has not met for more than a year.
She said: "My preferred option is for it to be dealt with and addressed by those people who are elected politicians in and elected as accountable politicians in Northern Ireland.
"We want to see the devolved government and the assembly back up and running and we’ll continue to work to ensure that that’s the case."
Mrs May's government relies on Northern Ireland's traditionalist DUP party to survive Commons votes, and the party is staunchly against any drive to liberalise the region's abortion laws.
But MPs from across the House of Commons - including senior Conservatives - have been pressing ministers to act in the absence of a power-sharing government.
Labour MP Stella Creasy has tabled an amendment to the upcoming Domestic Violence Bill aimed at equalising access across the UK and reducing the need for women from Northern Ireland to travel to England to access help.
The Prime Minister repeated assurances that Tory MPs would not be whipped to oppose that amendment, saying: "Obviously in the House of Commons any votes on abortion are always [...] a conscience issue and always and will continue to be treated as a free vote."
But Shadow Attorney General Shami Chakrabarti said Mrs May had so far failed to meet a "basic feminist test".
The Labour frontbencher said: "Theresa May needs to focus on deeds not words. Labour has been calling on her to immediately begin consulting with the parties in Northern Ireland to protect the fundamental rights of all women there.
"She has yet to meet this basic feminist test but we urge her now to rise above party politics, move to the right side of history and work with us to reform a most cruel and degrading law."
Mrs May came under renewed pressure to act this week when Britain's highest court said current abortion laws in Northern Ireland were a violation of human rights.
Following a legal challenge by campaigners, judges on the Supreme Court panel concluded that abortion laws in the region were incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights - but the court was forced to dismiss the case on technical grounds.
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