Appeal Against Abortion Ruling Welcomed by Precious Life
Mr John Larkin QC, the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, has lodged an appeal against the High Court ruling in December which declared that the illegality of abortion in cases of rape, incest, and when an unborn child has been diagnosed with a life-limiting disability was ‘incompatible’ with Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
John Larkin is to challenge Mr Justice Horner's judgment in the Court of Appeal.
Mr Justice Horner’s judgment in December did not change the law on abortion in Northern Ireland. However, the ‘declaration of incompatibility’ means that the matter of introducing new legislation is now for the Northern Ireland Assembly to decide.
Bernadette Smyth, the Director of Precious Life, commented:
“We welcome the Attorney General’s appeal against this diabolical ruling which has placed unborn children throughout Northern Ireland under ferocious attack.
“It is our hope that the right to life which is shared by all unborn children in international law, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which demands that States provide ‘appropriate legal protection before as well as after birth’, will be upheld and that this diabolical ruling will be overturned.”