NEW figures have revealed that fewer than 10 women from Northern Ireland had travelled to Scotland for abortions since the country offered free terminations two years ago.
A report released by NHS Scotland Information Service Division, said that "the change in the provision of this service" since 2017 "appears to have had very little impact".
The report, which covers the period until the end of 2018, stated that in the past decade almost 20 abortions have been carried out by the NHS in Scotland on women from the north.
Abortions remain illegal in the north, except for extreme cases where the woman's health is at risk.
Meanwhile, there was a rise in the number of women travelling to England and Wales for terminations in the months after free NHS services were first offered in June 2017.
The figure surged by 46 per cent and 62 per cent in the third and fourth quarters of 2017 compared to the same periods in the previous year.
A total of 919 women from the north travelled to England and Wales for abortions in 2017 – an increase of more than a quarter on 2016, and the highest level since 2011.
Women on low incomes can also seek British government support to pay for travel costs.
In the Republic, no figures are yet available with campaigners saying there is "chaos" on its new termination service for northern women since the law was changed at the beginning of this year, making abortions legal within the first 12 weeks of pregnancy.
