Northern Ireland set to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage

Equality campaigners celebrate ahead of a midnight deadline for new laws to come into force

Rory Carroll Ireland correspondent
@rorycarroll72
Mon 21 Oct 2019 17.37 BST
Last modified on Mon 21 Oct 2019 18.57 BST

Northern Ireland is poised to legalise abortion and same-sex marriage after an 11th-hour attempt by the region’s assembly to block change collapsed into farce.

Equality campaigners celebrated on Monday as the clock ticked towards midnight when laws extending abortion and marriage rights were due to come into force, ushering in momentous social change as Northern Ireland aligned with the rest of the UK.

Anti-abortion groups led by the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) tried to avert liberalisation by recalling the mothballed chamber at Stormont for the first time in almost three years. But discord and walkouts stymied debate and left the assembly deserted.

“The beginning of a new era for Northern Ireland – one in which we’re free from oppressive laws that have policed our bodies and healthcare,” said Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International’s Northern Ireland campaign manager.

“Thank you to everyone who has told their stories to help us reach this milestone,” tweeted Love Equality NI, an umbrella group that campaigned for marriage equality. “A historic moment,” said the advocacy group Stonewall.

Link to tweet

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