The effects of decriminalisation in Northern Ireland

Abstract

Fox holds the Queen Victoria Chair of Law, in the School of Law and Social Justice at the University of Liverpool and is Associate Dean for Research and Impact. She has previously worked at the Universities of Lancaster, Queen's Belfast, Manchester, Keele and Birmingham. Her research is concerned with the legal governance of human and animal bodies, legal conceptions of embodiment and regulation of reproduction. Current projects (funded by the Dunhill Medical Trust, Wellcome Trust and Socio-legal Studies Association) focus on pet loss and the place of companion animals in care homes, governance of assisted reproductive technologies, and abortion law reform in Northern Ireland.

Abortion Access and the Benefits and Limitations of Abortion-Permissive Legal Frameworks: Lessons from the United Kingdom

“…Abortion-seekers from Northern Ireland have been travelling to England since the enactment of the AA 1967. 56 It was hoped that partial decriminalisation and the new regulations would enable care closer to home. While the number of people travelling to England has declined since the regulations have passed (371 in 2020; 161 in 2021), 57 this has not been wholly attributable to the availability of care locally.…”

Legal and policy responses to the delivery of abortion care during COVID‐19

“…5 Some countries have also taken action to limit the assistance that might be provided to women by transnational abortion providers; the criminal process is sometimes utilized to punish those who are caught accessing care this way (this was a particular drive for aggressive prosecutions in Northern Ireland prior to the decriminalisation of abortion in 2019). 25 In Spain, action has been taken to block the websites of these providers. 26,27 Second, in some countries there are other restrictions which, whilst not an explicit ban on TEMA or remote care itself, have the effect of rendering it inaccessible because other legal requirements necessarily preclude the possibility of care being facilitated entirely remotely.…”

“…For example, some states in the United States (including Arizona, Arkansas, Indiana, South Carolina, and West Virginia) 5 . Some countries have also taken action to limit the assistance that might be provided to women by transnational abortion providers; the criminal process is sometimes utilized to punish those who are caught accessing care this way (this was a particular drive for aggressive prosecutions in Northern Ireland prior to the decriminalisation of abortion in 2019) 25 . In Spain, action has been taken to block the websites of these providers 26,27…”