Fewer than 50% of women in North aware abortion is lawful, poll shows

Fewer than half of women in Northern Ireland are aware that abortion is lawful, despite being decriminalised there three years ago, a survey from Amnesty International UK says.

Only 10 per cent of women know how to access abortion services, it says.

Meanwhile, medical experts, service providers and human rights organisations have called on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to commission abortion services urgently in an open letter.

The letter warns that the continued delay in establishing abortion services is “unacceptable and causing harm every day”, and says that “at a time when we are seeing deeply concerning rollbacks on reproductive rights in other countries such as the US, we cannot forget that people in the UK are being denied their rights too”.

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The poll, which was conducted by Opinium on behalf of Amnesty International UK, surveyed more than 1,000 adults in Northern Ireland. It found fewer than half (47 per cent) of adults were aware that abortion is lawful in Northern Ireland. Only 46 per cent of women were aware that abortion is legal.

Only 13 per cent of adults knew how to access abortion services, which was even lower among women (10 per cent). However, 49 per cent thought they knew where they could find out about these services.

An overwhelming majority (87 per cent) said the public were often unaware of the circumstances that abortion was permitted and how to access it.

Fewer than half (46 per cent) of women would be comfortable speaking to their GP about accessing abortion.

Three-fifths of adults thought the government should be doing more to make abortion services available and accessible across Northern Ireland, and seven in 10 thought they should do more to make people aware of what new services were available following the law change.

Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland on October 21st, 2019.

“The government is yet to establish commissioned abortion services in the region, leaving abortion provision fragile and inconsistent,” Amnesty International UK said.

“People are still being forced to travel long distances to access the healthcare: in 2020-2021, 161 people travelled to England to access an abortion.”

Gráinne Teggart, Amnesty International UK’s Northern Ireland deputy director, said the poll results were “shocking but not completely surprising”.

“The government has been dragging its heels on getting abortion services up and running for three years. No wonder people are left confused and unaware of their rights,” Ms Teggart said.

“Half the population doesn’t realise abortion is now lawful and worryingly few know how to access services — this is a huge failure by the government, and their delays are having a harmful impact on those in need of this healthcare on a daily basis.

“The law is meaningless if people don’t have access to abortion in practice. The Secretary of State for Northern Ireland must set up abortion services and launch an information campaign without delay.”