CIVIL RIGHTS
Gay Marriage, Abortion
Rights For Northern Ireland
London breaks local deadlock Personalized
protection
Marchers participating in Belfast Pride festivities will have a new reason to celebrate with the arrival
of marriage equality in Northern Ireland.
BY MATT TRACY
Same-sex marriage and
abortion rights are fi nally
due to arrive in Northern
Ireland, with the reforms
becoming law three months after
the British Parliament voted to approve
the measures, representing
a signifi cant step forward for a territory
that has long been gripped
by conservative values.
The new laws, which went into
effect at midnight on October 22,
provide women in Northern Ireland
with rights that have been in place
in the rest of the United Kingdom
since 1967. Abortions will become
decriminalized immediately and
folks will be able to undergo abortions
for free beginning in March of
2020, according to The Guardian.
Same-sex marriages are slated
to begin on February 14, Valentine’s
Day, roughly six years after
marriage equality took effect in
England and Wales and more than
fi ve years after Scotland followed
suit.
Marriage and abortion rights
became a reality thanks to the
inaction of the conservative local
government, which had been suspended
for nearly three years due
to rifts between the pro-British
Protestant faction and Catholicbased
Irish nationalists. In the
absence of local authority, Parliament
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS/ ARDFERN
in London opted to amend
legislation in Northern Ireland to
provide those rights, giving the
Northern Ireland Assembly — also
known as Stormont — until the
October deadline to take action
to the contrary. Lawmakers in
Northern Ireland tried to end their
long-standing stalemate and convene
hours before the deadline in
order to thwart London’s effort, but
failed to achieve a quorum to take
action.
The introduction of legal abortions
represents an historic boost
for the reproductive health rights
of women, transgender men, and
gender non-binary individuals in a
territory where people have previously
been forced to fl ee elsewhere
to exercise their right to choose.
Strong opposition to the changes
is expected, including legal challenges.
It is not clear whether attempts
to sideline the legislation
could be successful, but in the
meantime many local supporters
rejoiced, though some voiced only
cautious optimism.
Paul Twocock, who is the chief
executive of an LGBTQ group
dubbed Stonewall UK, said, “LGBT
people in Northern Ireland have
waited for too long for marriage
equality and we can’t wait to see
same-sex couples across Northern
Ireland marrying the person they
love.”
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