No Place for Marie Stopes in Northern Ireland
11 October 2012
Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:
“I am appalled to learn that Marie Stopes organisation is planning to open a centre in Northern Ireland which it boasts will be providing abortions privately.
"The only circumstances under which abortion is legal in Northern Ireland is where there is a threat to the life of the mother. This means that abortion in Northern Ireland is exceedingly rare. With such provision under the NHS there is no need or room for an abortion clinic, unless in reality it plans a wider service.
"It is imperative that the police monitor the Stopes facility for any infringement of the law in Northern Ireland, including aiding and abetting abortion, and, in this regard, I will be pressing both DHSSPS and DOJ to ensure the law is rigorously enforced.”
Mr Allister has tabled the following question for urgent oral answer by the Minister for Health on Monday:
To ask the Minister for Health, Social Services and Public Safety how will the proposed Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast be monitored to ensure strict compliance with the law on abortion in Northern Ireland.
