My attitude to abortion had been finally changed by the experience of facing the issue head-on. It is all the more disappointing, therefore, that in spite of having negotiated one of the most radical and progressive political agreements ever, judging by last month's Assembly debate on abortion, Northern Ireland's politicians have emerged from the experience remarkably unscathed. In fact, it was worse. Unlike Alliance it imposed a party whip in favour of the DUP's motion to prevent the extension of the 1967 Act. Any secular Northern Protestants of a progressive disposition who apply to join the British Labour Party are referred to SDLP headquarters.
Therapeutic abortion does take place in Northern Ireland, most often to protect the mother's life.
Some doctors will offer an abortion in other cases, such as congenital deformity. That there are no abortions taking place in Ireland is a myth, therefore. She stayed out of the chamber all day. There were honourable exceptions during the debate. The Ulster Unionist Party having opted for a free vote, Joan Carson, the no-nonsense MLA for Fermanagh and South Tyrone, threw her weight behind the 1967 Act, arguing that the motion only salved the consciences of those who won't tackle the issue of unwanted pregnancy.