A fresh legal challenge was mounted today against Northern Ireland's abortion laws by a woman who says current restrictions unfairly forced her to travel to England to have a termination.
Sarah Ewart went to the High Court in Belfast to challenge Northern Ireland's prohibition on abortions in cases of fatal foetal abnormality (FFA) - where medics believe the baby is likely to die before, during or shortly after birth.
At present, Northern Ireland only permits abortions in extremely rare cases where the mother's life is at risk or where there is significant risk of permanent damage to her physical or mental health.
Mrs Ewart, 28, argues that the current ban contradicts her human rights and said that travelling to England for an abortion was 'devastating'.
Her legal counsel Adam Straw told the High Court: 'She found it traumatic and undignified, like a conveyor belt, leaving her feeling vulnerable and humiliated.'
In June last year, the Supreme Court in London concluded that Northern Ireland's laws on abortion in cases of FFA were incompatible with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to private and family life. However, the ruling was not legally binding in Northern Ireland.
'I respectfully invite this court to follow the lead of the supreme court,' Mr Straw said in court on Wednesday.
In 2013, Mrs Ewart sought an abortion in England at 21 weeks after being told by doctors that her unborn baby had not developed a brain or skull.
She was denied an abortion in Northern Ireland despite doctors saying there was no chance of the baby surviving outside of the womb.
Her legal counsel also claimed in court that she was denied information on having a termination because medical practitioners feared prosecution.
Speaking outside the High Court in Belfast she said, 'I am really hopeful that the high court listens to what the supreme court has previously said – that women here [in Northern Ireland] who find themselves in the circumstances that I found myself in will get the help and the treatment that we need in our hospitals with our own medical teams.'
Her case is being supported by Amnesty International. The organisation's Northern Ireland campaign manager Grainne Teggart said: 'This hearing is our opportunity for an official judgment that Northern Ireland's abortion law breaches the UK's human rights commitments.'
Bernadette Smith, of the Precious Life campaign group, is strongly opposed to any changes to the law.
She said, 'Article 8 of the ECHR must not be used to override any breaking of the law here. There is no 'right to abortion' – but there is a 'right to life'.
'The right to life of all members of the human family is enshrined in internationally agreed declarations, conventions, and covenants.'
She continued: 'Our laws are a matter for our elected representatives and Assembly. The legislation in Northern Ireland ensures that mothers and their unborn children are protected in law, policy and practice.'
