ABORTION IN NORTHERN IRELAND

As per the Abortion Act 1967, abortion is legal in the UK if two doctors agree that the pregnancy poses a higher risk to a life of the woman than discontinuation; if it prevents harm to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman; and if the infant is delivered with a serious mental or physical abnormality.
Northern Ireland was not covered by the Act. Until 2019, the country had one of Europe's most stringent and punitive abortion regulations. The legislation was amended to enable abortion by the UK Parliament's Northern Ireland Act 2019 as a result of the Northern Ireland Assembly's non-functioning status in 2019. 

Although this was a big step forward for abortion rights, there are still issues, like the Health Ministers and the Department of Health NI's failure to finance services, and strong political opposition. Amid the continuing pandemic, many women were forced to travel to other parts of the UK for abortion services.
The law has changed and the Abortion Regulations (NI) 2020 took effect on March 31, 2020, immediately following the UK shutdown. The new legislation lays the groundwork for enabling women to get legal abortions up to 12 weeks of pregnancy, with no restrictions. Before 12-weeks gestation, only one signature from a nurse, doctor, or midwife is necessary, and beyond that, two signatures are needed.

Women in England have had access to abortion treatment for years, thanks to funding from the UK Department of Health and Social Care, which has been supplied by three major private abortion clinics since 2017. The objective of the Northern Ireland government following the new regulations was for women to continue to travel because, despite the Abortion Regulations, there were no local services and no attempt to commission or fund abortion.
Moreover, traveling became hard when the lockdown was imposed, and two women attempted suicide after having their abortion done in England because the flights got canceled. It was neither safe nor reasonable to keep exporting all abortion services.

The country has made a lot of progress, but there are a lot of women who still do not have access to safe abortion. There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in order to raise awareness of the essential need, enhance public knowledge of accessibility, and assist those health care professionals that wish to provide the best possible thorough abortion care.