UK government says women from Northern Ireland can now get free abortions in England

The U.K. government has announced that pregnant women from Northern Ireland will now be able to obtain free abortions in England.

Chancellor Philip Hammond told MPs on Thursday that the government will be funding the abortions of women arriving from Northern Ireland, where the procedure remains illegal.

The announcement came amid mounting pressure from MPs and a proposed amendment to the Queen's Speech urging the government to provide adequate funding for Northern Irish women who travel to England to obtain an abortion.

The Telegraph reported that the terminations will be funded by the Government Equalities Office and that the National Health Service (NHS) will not face any extra costs.

Minister for Equalities Justine Greening wrote a letter to MPs expressing her own personal support for the issue.

"At present women from Northern Ireland are asked for payment and from now on it is our proposal that this will no longer happen. This is clearly a sensitive issue and one which has direct implications for equality in treatment of women from Northern Ireland," she wrote.

The pro-life group Precious Life condemned the decision as an "outrageous attack on democracy."

"UK taxpayers should also be outraged that, while thousands of people are waiting years on NHS waiting lists for vital medical treatment because of lack of funding, the government is now going to fund more abortions that are never medically necessary," said the group's director, Bernadette Smyth.

A report recently published by the U.K. Department of Health has revealed that 724 Northern Irish women had traveled to England for abortions in 2016. The latest figure is said to be the lowest since England passed the Abortion Act in 1967.

Earlier this month, the U.K. Supreme Court ruled that the NHS cannot be compelled to pay for abortions of women from Northern Ireland. The ruling was based on an NHS policy that prohibits funding of medical services in England that would be illegal if received in Northern Ireland.

The challenge to the policy was brought by a woman from Northern Ireland who took her daughter to England in 2012 to obtain an abortion. She argued that the policy was discriminatory and violated her daughter's rights.

In a split decision of 3–2, the judges upheld the ruling of the lower courts that the policy did not amount to unlawful discrimination. The court noted that the availability and funding of abortions in Northern Ireland was a matter for the democratic process in the region and not the responsibility of the NHS.