British Chancellor Philip Hammond to fund abortions in England for women from North of Ireland
WOMEN from the North of Ireland will be able to get abortions on the NHS in England, the British Chancellor has announced.
More than 50 MPs from the major parties at Westminster had backed a call for Northern Irish women to have abortions for free in England – they currently have to pay.
In the North of Ireland currently, abortions are only allowed if a woman’s life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her physical or mental health.
The government has been under pressure since agreeing a deal with the DUP.
The concession came ahead of a vote in the Commons after an amendment on the issue was selected for debate on the Queen’s Speech.
Since the election Theresa May no longer has a majority of MPs so has to rely on backing from the 10 DUP MPs – but even then she remains vulnerable to a rebellion from her own side.
The North of Ireland’s abortion law is much stricter than the rest of the UK – rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities are not circumstances in which they can be performed legally.
Women from here seeking an abortion can travel to England to have one privately, but had not been allowed to do so free on the NHS – a position that was backed by the Supreme Court earlier this month.
In a debate on the Queen’s Speech on Thursday, Chancellor Philip Hammond was asked by the Conservative Sir Peter Bottomley, why, in the case of women from here “only the poor should be denied lawful abortions”.
Sir Peter was among MPs from various parties to sign an amendment, co-ordinated by Labour’s Stella Creasy, calling on the government to allow women from the North of Ireland to have abortions for free in England, instead of being charged as they are now.
It was one of three amendments to the Queen’s Speech selected for a vote by the Speaker.
Mr Hammond told him that Justine Greening, the minister for women and equalities, “either has made or is just about to make an announcement by way of a letter to members of this house explaining that she intends to intervene to fund abortions in England for women arriving here from Northern Ireland”.
Another Queen’s Speech motion, from the Labour leadership, will call for several of the opposition’s manifesto pledges to be adopted, and for a Brexit that delivers the “exact same benefits” of the EU single market and customs union.
There will also be a vote on an amendment from Labour’s Chuka Umunna, which calls for the UK to remain in the single market and customs union after Brexit – although this is not the policy of Mr Umunna’s front bench.
Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn, whose party made gains but still finished 55 seats behind the Conservatives in the election, said: “Theresa May does not have a mandate for continued cuts to our schools, hospitals, police and other vital public services or for a race-to-the-bottom Brexit.
“We invite MPs from across the House of Commons to take on board the strength of public opinion and desire for change in our country and vote for our amendment to bring forward policies to invest and improve public services, and put money in the pockets of the many not the few.”
In Wednesday’s Queen’s Speech debate, the government saw off Labour calls to scrap the public sector pay cap by a margin of 14 votes.
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