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Landmark abortion ruling: disappointment over 'opportunity lost'

Sarah Ewert and Jane Christie outside Laganside Courts in Belfast. Picture Matt Bohill
Sarah Ewert and Jane Christie outside Laganside Courts in Belfast. Picture Matt Bohill Sarah Ewert and Jane Christie outside Laganside Courts in Belfast. Picture Matt Bohill

THE jubilant mood among pro-choice campaigners following a "landmark" legal ruling on abortion laws last month changed to one of disappointment on Wednesday as a high court judge referred the matter back to Stormont politicians.

While Mr Justice Horner's previous judgment on existing legislation being in breach of human rights law remains in place, his assessment of a law change in relation to foetal abnormality, rape or incest being a "step too far" was viewed in some quarters as an opportunity lost.

Fears about continuing legal limbo are justified as it is now more than a decade since the Family Planning Association (FPA) first mounted a legal challenge for clarity on abortion guidelines - with another draft version still under wraps by the Department of Health.

With the onus now on politicians to act and an election looming, there is no doubt that pressure is mounting as both vulnerable women and healthcare professionals to express their frustration and anger about what they see is a fundamental healthcare issue - and one that should not be politicised or criminalised.

For women like Sarah Ewart, who face repeated diagnoses of fatal foetal abnormality and who have already been forced into travelling to England for abortions, the uncertainty and untold mental trauma continues.

Meanwhile, obstetricians, midwives, geneticists and other healthcare professionals involved in maternity care must adhere to existing laws which threaten jail time for those acting outside strict abortion guidelines drawn up by health minister Edwin Poots two years ago.

For the FPA, the fact that the debate around abortion is still to the fore and has been batted back to the Executive must be welcomed.

However, the urgency around the need for political leaders to make a decision which centres on the health needs of pregnant women has never been greater.