Northern Irish abortion laws force hundreds to England & Wales

In a referendum last year, the Republic of Ireland voted overwhelmingly to repeal its ban on abortion. So far, Northern Ireland hasn't followed the lead of its neighbour and according to newly released figures, there were only 12 terminations of pregnancy carried out in the country in 2017/18. This does not mean, however, that only 12 Northern Irish women sought an abortion. The legal status of terminating a pregnancy in their country leads large numbers of women to travel across the Irish Sea to England and Wales for the procedure. In stark contrast to the 12 conducted in Northern Ireland, 861 Northern Ireland residents had an abortion in England in Wales in 2017.