Abortion referendum should be held in NI - Tory MP

Pro-choice campaigners hold up signs calling for the liberalisation of abortion laws in Northern Ireland Image copyright AFP/Getty Images
Image caption Attention has turned to NI after the Republic of Ireland voted overwhelming in favour of overturning the country's abortion ban

An abortion referendum should be held in Northern Ireland, a senior Conservative MP has said.

Dr Sarah Wollaston, chair of Westminster's health committee, is one of a number of female Conservatives calling for change.

Prime Minister Theresa May is facing pressure to reform the law after the Republic of Ireland voted to end its ban in Friday's referendum.

Northern Ireland's abortion law is more restrictive than the rest of the UK.

Downing Street is understood to believe that any reform "is an issue for Northern Ireland".

"It shows one of the important reasons we need a functioning executive back up and running," a source said.

Mrs May tweeted on Sunday: "The Irish Referendum yesterday was an impressive show of democracy which delivered a clear and unambiguous result. I congratulate the Irish people on their decision and all of #Together4Yes on their successful campaign." - PM @theresa_may #repealedthe8th"

Northern Ireland's abortion rules

Currently, a termination is only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman's life is at risk or if there is a risk of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health.

Rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities are not circumstances in which an abortion can be performed legally.

A fatal foetal abnormality diagnosis means doctors believe an unborn child has a terminal condition and will die in the womb or shortly after birth.

However, anti-abortion campaigners argue that doctors cannot accurately predict death, saying that terminally-ill babies "can and do defy the odds".

There is no restriction on travelling outside Northern Ireland to seek a legal termination in another jurisdiction.

Last year, the Westminster government introduced measures to help women from Northern Ireland access free NHS abortions in England.

Speaking on the BBC's Pienaar's Politics programme, Dr Wollaston said there was "a clear case to extent the same rights to women in Northern Ireland as we have here in the rest of the United Kingdom".

She called for the Northern Ireland Assembly to bring forward legislation and said that "we should at the very least allow women in Northern Ireland the opportunity for Northern Ireland to have a referendum on this".

However, the assembly has not been carrying out its legislative role for almost 18 months after Stormont's power-sharing government collapsed in January 2017.

The administration of public services is now being carried out by civil servants.