Competing framings of abortion in the Northern Ireland Assembly and Westminster: the long and winding road to abortion decriminalisation

Abstract

Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland in October 2019. This historic change was introduced by the UK Parliament following lengthy activist campaigns, national and international inquiries, and regional and national court cases. This paper focuses on two legislatures, the Northern Ireland Assembly, and the UK Parliament, examining the role played by each in how decriminalisation was achieved. Tracing efforts dating back to the introduction of the Northern Ireland Assembly in 1998, the analysis charts how the often-hostile approach to reform changed, prior to, and following, decriminalisation. In contrast, the UK Parliament's treatment of the abortion issue in Northern Ireland over the same period veered from ignorance to apathy to engagement. The paper examines the external and internal influences in each legislature, illustrating the different discourses within each. In the Northern Ireland Assembly, we trace how the debate on abortion was shaped around the question of abortion, whereas in the UK Parliament, the issue of devolution dominated. This paper offers a unique comparative analysis from the position of involved campaigners, of the multi-jurisdictional efforts to bring about historic legal change which moved Northern Ireland from having one of the most restricted legal frameworks globally on abortion to one of the most liberal.