Theresa May calls for legal abortions in Northern Ireland, risking antagonising her DUP allies

Theresa May risked antagonising her DUP allies last night by calling for legal abortions in Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister suggested MPs could force a change if politicians in the province fail to act following Ireland’s landslide vote to legalise abortion in a referendum last month.

Unlike in the rest of the UK, abortion in Northern Ireland is illegal unless the woman’s life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious danger to her mental or physical health.

Almost 1,000 Northern Ireland women went to England or Wales for an abortion in 2017, it was revealed this week.

Mrs May told reporters at the G7 summit in Quebec: ‘I believe that a woman should be able to access safe, legal abortion.’

She said she would prefer the devolved Stormont Assembly to make the change – but it has been in abeyance since the power-sharing deal between the DUP and Sinn Fein broke down in January 2017.

‘We want to see the devolved government and the Assembly back up and running and we’ll continue to work to ensure that that’s the case,’ she said.

Then she appeared to suggest there were alternatives, and spoke of Westminster’s tradition of free votes on abortion because it was ‘a matter of conscience’.

Women and Equalities Minister Penny Mordant has hailed the Irish vote as ‘a historic great day for Ireland and a hopeful one for Northern Ireland’, adding: ‘That hope must be met.’

But Mrs May has to tread a fine line on the issue because the DUP fiercely opposes legalising abortion and since last year’s General Election her minority Tory government has had to rely on its votes.

In the UK Supreme Court this week, a majority of judges said Northern Ireland’s laws were ‘incompatible’ with human rights. However, the ruling was not enforced because of a legal technicality.

DUP Leader Arlene Foster’s party oppose abortion in Northern Ireland