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| Northern Ireland's first private abortion clinic to open in Belfast | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Marie Stopes predicts women will travel to Belfast from the Republic to have terminations when it opens the first private clinic to offer abortions on the island of Ireland. | |
| Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the Abortion Act 1967 does not apply, owing to opposition from the churches and almost all the parties at the Stormont assembly. Like their counterparts in the Republic, where abortions are illegal, women from Northern Ireland have to travel to elsewhere in Britain for terminations. | Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK where the Abortion Act 1967 does not apply, owing to opposition from the churches and almost all the parties at the Stormont assembly. Like their counterparts in the Republic, where abortions are illegal, women from Northern Ireland have to travel to elsewhere in Britain for terminations. |
| Defending the opening of the centre, its programme director, Dawn Purvis, said: "We believe this is great news for the people of Northern Ireland because we will be able to meet their family planning and sexual health needs in a way that has not been seen here before. | Defending the opening of the centre, its programme director, Dawn Purvis, said: "We believe this is great news for the people of Northern Ireland because we will be able to meet their family planning and sexual health needs in a way that has not been seen here before. |
| "We have a new, purpose-built, centrally located specialist centre. Our team are highly trained and dedicated healthcare professionals. And our services will be delivered in a confidential, sensitive and non-judgmental way." | "We have a new, purpose-built, centrally located specialist centre. Our team are highly trained and dedicated healthcare professionals. And our services will be delivered in a confidential, sensitive and non-judgmental way." |
| Purvis is a former leader of the Progressive Unionist party. | Purvis is a former leader of the Progressive Unionist party. |
| Terminations will only be offered to women in the first nine weeks of pregnancy and will cost £450. The new city centre clinic, which opens next Thursday, also offers a range of sexual and reproductive services including short and long-term contraceptive options, emergency contraception and HIV testing. | Terminations will only be offered to women in the first nine weeks of pregnancy and will cost £450. The new city centre clinic, which opens next Thursday, also offers a range of sexual and reproductive services including short and long-term contraceptive options, emergency contraception and HIV testing. |
| Choice Ireland, a pro-choice organisation based in the Republic, has welcomed the new service. | Choice Ireland, a pro-choice organisation based in the Republic, has welcomed the new service. |
| A spokeswoman, Sinéad Ahern, said the clinic would reduce the "psychological and financial burden" for women south of the border who are seeking a termination. | |
| Dr Paula Franklin, medical director with Marie Stopes, said the terminations, which involve taking tablets, would only be carried out on women who meet criteria set by two doctors. | |
| "In cases where we feel the woman's case meets medical requirements, we will carry out medical abortions. That's where two doctors independently review the woman's history and current physical and mental health," she said. | "In cases where we feel the woman's case meets medical requirements, we will carry out medical abortions. That's where two doctors independently review the woman's history and current physical and mental health," she said. |
| But anti-abortion campaigners in Northern Ireland have warned of a campaign to close down the clinic offering abortion services. | |
| Bernie Smith from the organisation Precious Life said: "I am absolutely outraged. An organisation which is making profits from the death of unborn children is not welcome in Northern Ireland. | Bernie Smith from the organisation Precious Life said: "I am absolutely outraged. An organisation which is making profits from the death of unborn children is not welcome in Northern Ireland. |
| "There will be an outcry from the people, from government and from the churches." | "There will be an outcry from the people, from government and from the churches." |
| A group of Irish nationals who had abortions in England because their babies would have died in birth have welcomed the opening of the clinic in Belfast. | |
| But Ruth Bowie, of the Terminations for Medical Reasons campaign group, said a number of women both sides of the border would still be forced to travel across the Irish Sea to have a termination Fatal foetal abnormalities are only picked up within 12 to 20 weeks of pregnancy – long after the nine week limit at the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast. | But Ruth Bowie, of the Terminations for Medical Reasons campaign group, said a number of women both sides of the border would still be forced to travel across the Irish Sea to have a termination Fatal foetal abnormalities are only picked up within 12 to 20 weeks of pregnancy – long after the nine week limit at the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast. |
| "This development in Belfast will be of no help to the women north and south who are facing the trauma and upset of fatal foetal abnormalities," Bowie said. "Women and men in this situation continue to be forced to travel away from family, friends and their homes at the worst time of their lives. | |
| "We continue to campaign for a change in this outdated law and will not stop until women and men who make this heartbreaking decision are afforded to the dignity to be cared for in their own country." | "We continue to campaign for a change in this outdated law and will not stop until women and men who make this heartbreaking decision are afforded to the dignity to be cared for in their own country." |