South Eastern Trust to reinstate early abortion services from today

By Q Radio news

Early abortions services are being reinstated in the South Eastern Health Trust area from today.

Last month the trust was forced to disband early medical abortion services for people in Lisburn, North Down, Ards and D

Amnesty International has welcomed the news.

It claims that In the midst of a pandemic when the Government had told people not to travel, women were forced to purchase abortion pills online or risk travelling to England to access vital abortion services.

Amnesty says it welcomes news that the SE Trust will now reinstate their early abortion services but warned that this does not go far enough.

Amnesty has repeatedly called on the Department of Health to commission and fund abortion services to ensure they are sustainable and accessible, but to date the department has failed to do so.

Patrick Corrigan, Amnesty International Northern Ireland Director, said:

“Despite these vital services being a legal entitlement, women have been forced to face the daunting prospect of travel outside of this jurisdiction in the middle of a pandemic - an extraordinary breach of their human right to healthcare.

“Enough is enough. Health Minister Robin Swann has failed in his duty to ensure all trusts have the necessary resources to assist those who need this healthcare.

“It is now time for Northern Ireland Secretary of State Brandon Lewis to intervene to end this on-off breach of the UK’s human rights obligations.”