Assembly, not courts, should decide on abortion issue in North, Appeal Court rules

Northern Ireland's Appeal Court says it is not up to it to decide on abortion laws there.

Assembly, not courts, should decide on abortion issue in North, Appeal Court rules

Northern Ireland's Appeal Court says it is not up to it to decide on abortion laws there.

The Court has said abortion reform should be left to Stormont's Assembly.

It said the complex moral and religious questions behind the issue should be determined by a legislature rather than a court.

The three judges allowed an appeal against a lower court's ruling that abortion legislation was incompatible with the UK's Human Rights Act obligations.

Unlike other parts of the UK, the 1967 Abortion Act does not extend to Northern Ireland, where abortions are illegal except where the life or mental health of the mother is in danger.

Anyone who performs an illegal termination could be jailed for life.

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