Northern Ireland

Brandon Lewis criticises health minister over full abortion access

Secretary of state Brandon Lewis has criticised the north's health minister for ongoing delays to full access to abortion services. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire
Secretary of state Brandon Lewis has criticised the north's health minister for ongoing delays to full access to abortion services. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire Secretary of state Brandon Lewis has criticised the north's health minister for ongoing delays to full access to abortion services. Picture by Niall Carson/PA Wire

SECRETARY of state Brandon Lewis has accused health minister Robin Swann of making "excuses" for delaying full access to abortion services for women in the north.

Mr Lewis has said he is giving the Department of Health a "few more weeks" to make significant movement, warning that if none is made, then the Northern Ireland Office "will commission those services" within months.

Westminster removed most restrictions on abortion in Northern Ireland in 2019 when the executive was not in place.

Services are offered by some health trusts on an ad-hoc basis, while the department can fund access for services in Britain for women who cannot get them at home.

However, speaking on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour show yesterday, Mr Lewis said it was "morally bankrupt" not to ensure abortion access was available for all who require it.

He said he had recently taken away the need for an executive to make the decision on services, allowing the department to do it alone.

"The minister for health here just fundamentally doesn't want to provide these services," Mr Lewis said, adding: "He has had plenty of time to do it."

"There's not just a legal duty but a moral duty to make sure that women and girls here in Northern Ireland can access good quality healthcare, the same way that people across the UK can."

The pandemic is "no excuse" for the delay, Mr Lewis said.

"This has just been a refusal by the executive here in Northern Ireland, and the parties here...to provide these services. There are no two ways about it.

"I think some of the ministers involved in this fundamentally want to end abortion."

A team of "experts" has been installed at the NIO to prepare to commission the services directly, Mr Lewis said, continuing: "We will give the Department of Health a few more weeks to do that."

"It's morally bankrupt not to make sure that people here in Northern Ireland have access to these services."

A spokesperson for the Department of Health told The Irish News: "The department continues to engage with the Northern Ireland Office to progress these matters, and is working to assess operational readiness to provide commissioned abortion services, pending approval of a draft service model and business case which will be subject to confirmation of available funding."

Meanwhile, early abortion services in the Western Health Trust area are to resume as early as next month.

The trust said "staffing resourcing issues" were to blame for their halting in April of last year.

The trust has apologised for the removal of services, and a spokesperson said: "In the interim, from 1 April 2022, this service has been available to anyone in the Western Trust area via our neighbouring health and social care trusts.

"The trust is currently working to recommence the early medical abortion clinic within the next number of months in accordance with the Abortion (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2020, and have recruited to a number of vacancies to support the service going forward."