The UK government will commission abortion services for girls and women in Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, announced that the Secretary of State is under an obligation to ensure that safe services are available in the country.
The government of the United Kingdom has been forced to act three years after the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland, as the Department of Health of Northern Ireland has not ensured the availability of the services, and has not shown any indications that they will act to provide them.
The commissioning of abortion services follows the regulations made by Brendon Lewis, former Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in May 2022. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said that the UK government is clear that it would commission abortion services if the Department of Health did not act to provide them.
According to Chris Heaton-Harris MP, they will be ensuring the commissioning of abortion services by the government of the United Kingdom. However, the UK government has been left with no other option, as the girls and women of North Ireland have been without safe and high-quality services, and many have to travel to other regions of the country to access healthcare services to which they are entitled legally.
