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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. ....