A court in Belfast has heard that a 15-year-old girl was taken out of the classroom and questioned by police without her parent’s consent – for taking abortion pills.
The court is considering whether to allow the girl’s mother to be prosecuted for supplying her with the pills.
Abortion pills, freely available in Britain, remain illegal in the North.
Should the prosecution be allowed to proceed, the mother could face up to five years in prison.
The case marks the first time a prosecution relating to Northern Ireland’s abortion laws has been challenged.
Amnesty International has warned that the prosecution is a breach of both women’s human rights –and has joined the challenge as an intervenor.
File photo of Solicitor Jemma Conlon (left) and Grainne Teggart of Amnesty International outside the High Court in Belfast, 20-09-2018. Image: Brian Lawless/PA Wire/PA Images
“Obvious and cruel injustice”
The organisation's campaign manager for the UK, Grainne Teggart said the prosecution marks an “obvious and cruel injustice” on a woman who gave her daughter access to pills that are “prescribed free on the NHS in every other part of the UK.”
“If the judicial review fails this will go to a criminal trial and the mother will face potentially up to five years in jail,” she said.
“We would urge the judges today to carefully consider the very serious implications that this case will have – not only on this mother but on other women who seek this form of health care.”
Today we're challenging the prosecution of a Northern Irish mother who bought #abortion pills for her daughter, which are free on the NHS in the rest of the UK. This is a cruel injustice and this woman is not a criminal. The UK must step in to reform these laws #NowForNI pic.twitter.com/AU9wNYppxe
— Amnesty UK (@AmnestyUK) November 6, 2018
She noted that the UK Government retains the power, to decriminalise abortion in the North and “send a clear message that abortion is a matter for women and their doctors, not police and judges.”
She said it is a “very obvious a cruel injustice that because they live in Northern Ireland, they are being hauled through the courts and treated like criminals.”
"Abusive relationship"
Amnesty said that when the then-15-year-old girl discovered she was pregnant, she was in a “physically and mentally abusive relationship.”
She decided she did not want to continue the pregnancy and sought her mother’s support and assistance to have an abortion.
After the termination, the mother took her daughter to a GP seeking counselling services to deal with issues around the abusive relationship.
The organisation said that after telling the doctor about the use of the pills, the girl was referred for counselling – however, she was later pulled from class to be questioned by police, without a solicitor present.
file photo of Bernadette Smyth, Founder and Director of Precious Life, outside the High Court in Belfast, 20-09-2018. Image: Brian Lawless/PA Wire/PA Images
Protests
Campaigners stood outside the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast as the judicial review got underway this morning.
A group of pro-life protestors also gathered outside the court.
The Belfast judge who granted the woman leave to challenge the decision to prosecute her said the case raised “issues of considerable public importance and public debate.”
The judicial review hearings began this morning and are expected to continue tomorrow.
