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Abortion in Northern Ireland |
4 February 2008 |
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Midwives fear prosecution due to confusion over abortion rules
Midwives in Northern Ireland are threatening to stop carrying out abortions because they fear they may be liable to criminal prosecution. At the end of last year, the Northern Ireland Assembly rejected proposed guidelines clarifying the circumstances under which abortions are legal. At the moment abortion is technically only legal in Northern Ireland if continuing the pregnancy poses a risk to the mother's life or would seriously affect her physical or mental health, but there is still confusion in practice. Jane is joined by Breedagh Hughes of the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) in Northern Ireland, Audrey Simpson, Director of the Family Planning Association, and Jeffrey Donaldson, the Democratic Unionist Party MP who tabled the motion to reject the guidelines. |
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