UK Supreme Court backs N Ireland women’s right to abortion

Non-legally binding ruling says victims of rape or those with serious health risks have right to terminate pregnancies.

The government of the United Kingdom is facing intense pressure to reform abortion laws in Northern Ireland after Supreme Court judges described them as incompatible with human rights legislation.

In a majority opinion, the judges decided that women who had been raped, or whose unborn children suffered a fatal foetal abnormality, had the right to terminate their pregnancies.

But the judges’ considered opinion is not legally binding, and the focus is now on politicians to decide the next step.

 

Al Jazeera’s Paul Brennan reports from the Supreme Court in London.