Northern Ireland has a ban on abortions in almost all cases β even rape or incest. Abortion is only permitted when there is a risk to the life of the mother, or a serious risk to her physical or mental health.
Campaigners were countered by anti-abortion protesters who urged Northern Ireland not to change its restrictive abortion laws. The original demonstrators chose to go as a group of 28 women to symbolise the number of people who leave Northern Ireland for England and Wales each week to have a termination.
The women, who included cross-party MPs, carried suitcases containing sheets of paper with the names of 62, people who have called for the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland. There was a very determined mood. We walked in silence with a steely determination to communicate the very serious and grave situation. Ms Teggart added that she believed healthcare should not be treated as a criminal justice issue and said Northern Irish women were highly frustrated the UK government has not extended abortion rights to the region.
In Northern Ireland, around seven in ten want abortion decriminalised and the law reformed. The Abortion Act, which established legal abortion, has never applied in Northern Ireland and following devolution, health remains under the jurisdiction of the regional assembly in Stormont. However, the assembly has not sat for two years due to the ongoing impasse between unionist and nationalist parties.
Theresa May has faced pressure to give MPs a free vote on the issue after abortion was legalised in the Republic of Ireland following a historic referendum last May. Official statistics show that 12 abortions were carried out in Northern Ireland last year.
