The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) is considering whether it should appeal a High Court ruling that Brandon Lewis, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, acted lawfully when he directed ministers in the devolved government in Stormont to dedicate the funding and resources necessary for a dramatic increase in the number of abortions in the Province.
The ruling, handed down earlier today, has serious implications for the future of the pro-life movement in Northern Ireland, since it accepts that the Secretary of State has the legal power to take whatever action he sees fit to implement the radical law imposed by Parliament in 2019. This means that he could block any future law made by the Stormont Assembly if it restricted current abortion regulations.
In 2020, Mr Lewis issued regulations that permit abortions, practically on-demand, late into pregnancy, as well as abortion up to birth for children with disabilities. However, a lack of consensus on the issue within the Stormont Executive has meant that late-term abortions remain largely unavailable.
Frustrated by this situation, in July 2021 Mr Lewis issued a “direction” to the First and Deputy First Ministers and the department of health mandating the provision of the funding, resources and personnel required to implement Westminster’s radical abortion programme. According to this direction, the measures set out by Mr Lewis are to be in place and fully operational no later than 31 March 2022.
SPUC took Mr Lewis to court arguing that he had exceeded his authority, but the judge disagreed. The loss of this case has serious implications, not just for abortion law in Northern Ireland, but for the future of democratic accountability in the Province. Northern Ireland politicians would be powerless to contradict anything the Secretary of State told them to do.
"A gross abuse of political power"
Liam Gibson, SPUC’s Policy and Legal Officer, said:
“This ruling suggests that Section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc.) Act 2019, which imposed on Northern Ireland the most extreme abortion law in Europe, can override the terms of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement. We are naturally disappointed because this judgment allows the Secretary of State to have a ‘broad and permissive’ power to impose any measure he thinks is appropriate regarding abortion.
“It is absurd to say that, if elected representatives don’t like the current abortion law, then they should use their mandate to change it. If this judgement is allowed to stand, the Secretary of State can simply block any attempt to restrict abortion or restore the right to life of unborn children. Brandon Lewis hasn’t only deprived unborn children of their right to life, he has effectively stripped the people of Northern Ireland of any right to decide what our abortion law should be.
“The Secretary of State has given himself the power to advance his abortion agenda in any way he sees fit, regardless of what the people of Northern Ireland think. Westminster has already imposed one of the most ruthless abortion laws in Europe on us. That law would never have secured a majority in the Stormont Assembly, and a large section of the public remains steadfastly opposed to its implementation. Instead of acknowledging this, Mr Lewis has effectively seized control over abortion policy by stripping locally elected Ministers of any say on the matter.
“Not only will Mr Lewis’s direction condemn to death an untold number of unborn babies, but it is also a gross abuse of political power. The Northern Ireland Office’s high-handed attitude may have already inflicted a fatal blow on the devolution settlement. We’re examining the ruling carefully to see if an appeal against this judgement is feasible.”