Fiona Bloomer and Emma Campbell (eds), Decriminalizing Abortion in Northern Ireland, Volumes 1 (Legislation and Protest) and 2 (Allies and Abortion Provision)

Smyth, Rebecca (2023) Fiona Bloomer and Emma Campbell (eds), Decriminalizing Abortion in Northern Ireland, Volumes 1 (Legislation and Protest) and 2 (Allies and Abortion Provision). Medical Law Review. ISSN 0967-0742

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Abstract

In October 2019, abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland, with the Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020 coming into effect the following March. Abortion is now legal on request up to 12 weeks; on health grounds between 12 and 24 weeks; and thereafter to avoid risk to the pregnant person’s life, grave, and permanent risk to their health, or following diagnosis of severe or fatal foetal anomaly.1 Despite the ongoing issues with ensuring full access across Northern Ireland, and continued efforts by conservative actors to undermine or overturn the Regulations,2 the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland is nonetheless a huge step forward for Northern Irish and transnational struggles to realise abortion access, reproductive justice, and sexual and reproductive health and rights. In this two-volume edited collection, Bloomer and Campbell provide a comprehensive account of this long, complicated, and ongoing process. From the opening pages, it is clear that a huge amount of intellectual, ‘emotional, physical, bureaucratic, caring and imaginative labour’ went into not only the campaign for decriminalisation,3 but also into editing these volumes.

Item Type: Article
Identification Number: https://doi.org/10.1093/medlaw/fwad024
Dates:
DateEvent
22 June 2023Accepted
7 August 2023Published Online
Subjects: CAH16 - law > CAH16-01 - law > CAH16-01-01 - law
Divisions: Faculty of Business, Law and Social Sciences > School of Law
Depositing User: Rebecca Smyth
Date Deposited: 07 Sep 2023 12:05
Last Modified: 07 Sep 2023 12:05
URI: https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/14677

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