Christian
campaigners for the abortion laws said the laws gave enough rights and
protection for women. But women still have the right to abort their foetus in
case the child could not live a proper life because of its abnormalities.
Another right they need is if the child was conceived after rape or any crime
of the sort.
In Britain,
we have the 1967 Abortion Act. This allows abortions for these types of cases.
However, in Ireland, only if the foetus endangers the life or the mental state
of the mother can it only be aborted. At any point an abortion is performed
illegally, women can be arrested for life.
As a
result, many Irish women seeking an aboriton travel to the United Kingdom to
avoid the law.
According
to Belfast Judge Justice Mark Horner, the inability to access an abortion made
it a "gross interference with her personal autonomy. Meanwhile, a huge
burden is placed on victims when sexual crime has conceived the foetus.
Justice
Minister David Ford said the proposed change could remain in Limbo for some
time.
Meanwhile,
the Christian Institute Lobby Group Head Callum Webster said:
"It is
heartening that the majority of MLAs have voted to uphold the sanctity of life
today at Stormont.
"There
has been a media campaign to undermine the legal protections afforded to our
unborn children, but thankfully politicians have resisted that co-ordinated
pressure."
