Hannah and her partner have just had a disastrous meeting with the obstetrician. Hannah knows that her pregnancy is not viable and, tortuously, decides that she cannot give birth to a dead baby. The next morning she tells her doctor she wants a termination. He stares at her and says, “well you know that’s not going to happen … not in this hospital”.
This is a scene from Three Families – a two-part BBC series set in 2013, which focuses on Northern Ireland’s restrictive abortion policies. Told through the stories of three women, the show highlights a cold truth running through the history of UK abortion rights: that Northern Irish women have been, and continue to be largely excluded from access.
Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
A new requirement in the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 requires a practitioner who objects to abortion to refer the patient to a doctor who can help them.
The Health Professionals Alliance is fighting for a declaration that the new law interferes with the Bill of Rights Act.
Before Justice Rebecca Ellis, plaintiff Ian Bassett argued part of the Abortion Legislation Act 2020 infringes on a health practitioners rights: Namely the rights to freedom of conscience without interference .
The Abortion Legislation Act states conscientious objections must be accommodated unless it risks providing unreasonable disruption .
Bassett told the courtroom practitioners may fear their job was in jeopardy if their employer considered them disruptive.