“We welcome any moves to improve women’s access to lawful abortion services in Northern Ireland. Abortion is a devolved issue hence Labour’s pledge to work with the Assembly to move forward on this. Ultimately, bpas would like to see abortion decriminalised across the UK, and abortion regulated in the same way as other healthcare services – from Belfast to Brighton. In the meantime we would also like to see women from Northern Ireland – as UK taxpayers – able to access NHS funded abortion services in England. The fact that must both travel and pay privately for treatment that women elsewhere in the UK receive for free is grossly unfair.”

ENDS

For more information please contact the bpas press office on 0207 061 3377 or email press@bpas.org

Notes to Editors:

About bpas

bpas is a charity which sees more than 70,000 women a year and provides reproductive healthcare services including pregnancy counselling, abortion care, miscarriage management and contraception, at clinics across the UK. It supports and advocates for reproductive choice. More information can be found at bpas.org