pro-choice protesters chant slogans at a protest picture: pa  victims of rape and incest will now be legally allowed to carry out abortions in northern ireland after a landmark legal challenge to relax the country’s strict laws proved successful.  before the challenge, northern ireland was the only uk country that didn’t take up the 1967 abortion act – meaning that terminations were only legally permitted in instances where the life or mental health of the mother was in danger.  anyone who performed an illegal termination faced the prospect of life imprisonment in jail.  but a challenge to the legal ruling was brought in july by the northern ireland human rights commision nihrc – who wanted to legalise terminations in cases of rape, incest or fatal foetal abnormality.  more : breaking news: 75% of labour members ‘oppose islamic state strikes in syria’  advertisement  advertisement  more : advertising junk food before 9pm could be banned in a bid to tackle obesity  and while a law change was recommended in circumstances of fatal foetal abnormality, the nihrc argued that this was not enough – and said that the current law was incompatible with human rights legislation regarding inhuman and degrading treatment.  delivering the latest breakthrough ruling, judge mr justice mark horner told belfast high court: ‘in the circumstances, given this issue is unlikely to be grasped by the legislature in the foreseeable future; i conclude that the article eight [of the european convention on human rights] rights of women in northern ireland who are pregnant with foetal abnormalities or as a result of sexual crime are breached by the impugned provisions.’  the judge also claimed that current northern irish law placed a ‘disproportionate’ burden on the victims of sexual crime.  advertisement advertisement
northern ireland legally allows abortions for rape and incest victims