WOMEN who have an abortion in non-NHS clinics in the north could be jailed if a DUP proposal is agreed.
The amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill proposes a prison sentence for anyone who terminates a pregnancy unless the procedure is lawfully performed at an NHS property, or if it is urgent and carried out without a fee.
However, the amendment - proposed by DUP chair of the justice committee Alastair Ross and due to be debated today - is expected to be blocked after Sinn Fin, the Alliance and Green parties backed a petition of concern.
In 2013, a similar amendment which would have banned abortions being performed by private clinics failed to win sufficient cross-community support.
If passed, the new amendment would prevent clinics including Marie Stopes in Belfast from carrying out any terminations.
The Marie Stopes clinic is able to offer terminations, using a pill, to women during the first nine weeks of their pregnancies under limited circumstances.
Amnesty International said the proposed amendment could result in a jail sentence of up to 10 years for any woman who has an abortion in a non-NHS clinic, or any healthcare worker involved in the procedure.
Grainne Teggart from Amnesty said women's healthcare should "not be a matter for criminal sanction".
The proposal comes at a time when no clear access to NHS-provided abortion exists for women in Northern Ireland. The Department of Health is yet to publish its termination of pregnancy guidance, despite this being court-ordered after 10 years of delay.
Previous draft versions of this guidance helped to instil a climate of fear amongst our medical profession. The justice committee chairs proposal seeks to further restrict clinicians from doing their job by adding to the threat of prosecution already hanging over them.
Alliance justice spokesman Stewart Dickson claimed the amendment was "bad legislation that should not have been attached to the end of the justice bill".
"There are significant human rights concerns regarding this amendment that would surely create further legal confusion and lead to challenges in the High Court."
Green Party assembly member Steven Agnew claimed the amendment was "disingenuous" and sought to "make a womens health issue one of criminality".
Women are being failed by some politicians on this issue and so I have signed a petition of concern against the amendment.
Meanwhile, in a separate amendment to the justice bill, the DUP has proposed that a paedophile disclosure scheme should be introduced to the north.
The scheme would be similar to 'Sarah's Law'', introduced in Britain in 2011, which allows a parent or guardian to ask police if a person in contact with children is a sex offender.
Hundreds of paedophiles have been identified in Britain since the introduction of the scheme.
The amendment is to be discussed in the assembly today.
