The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 received Royal assent on 6 February 2023 and creates safe access zones around abortion clinics in Northern Ireland with a radius of 100 metres.
| Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly | |
 | |
| Long title | An Act to make provision in respect of safe access zones for premises providing abortion services. |
|---|---|
| Citation | 2023 c. 1 |
| Introduced by | Clare Bailey |
| Territorial extent | Northern Ireland |
| Dates | |
| Royal assent | 6 February 2023 |
| Commencement | 7 February 2023, 15 April 2024[1] |
Status: Unknown | |
| Text of statute as originally enacted | |
| Revised text of statute as amended | |
| Text of the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk. | |
History
editIn 2020, a report by the NI Abortion and Contraception Taskgroup protest exclusion zones.[2]
In 2021, a majority of Northern Ireland's political parties supported protest exclusion zones.[3]
In 2022, the Northern Ireland Assembly voted in favour of the bill.[4] The Attorney General for Northern Ireland referred it to the Supreme Court, which unanimously ruled that the legislation was compatible with the European Court of Human Rights - it declared that "The right of women in Northern Ireland to access abortion services has now been established in law through the processes of democracy" - and that this legal right should not be obstructed by "opponents of the legislation based, some might think ironically, on the liberal values protected by the convention".[5]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ Northern Ireland Assembly. Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 as amended (see also enacted form), from legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ McCormack, Jayne (31 March 2021). "Call for abortion protest 'exclusion zones' in Northern Ireland". BBC. London. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ McCormack, Jayne (12 October 2021). "Plans for abortion protest exclusion zones backed by MLAs". BBC. London. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ Walker, Stephen (2 March 2022). "Abortion protest exclusion zone law moves forward". BBC. London. Retrieved 17 July 2024.
- ^ Siddique, Haroon (7 December 2022). "Northern Ireland can create abortion clinic buffer zones, supreme court rules". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 July 2024.