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MPs vote to approve extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland

MPs have voted 253 to 136 in favour of a motion approving the UK Government’s extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland.

The vote comes two days after the House of Lords voted to approve the regulations and means the extreme abortion regime in Northern Ireland will remain in place.

However, it also means the people of Northern Ireland through the Northern Ireland Assembly now have power over their own abortion regulations, and can amend what the UK Government has imposed on them.

While today’s vote in the House of Commons is a defeat for pro-life campaigners and the people of Northern Ireland, the vote indicates that there has been a large decrease in the number of pro-abortion MPs and an increase in the number of pro-life MPs in the House of Commons since the 2019 election, which our analysis of the election result suggested.

Before the new intake of MPs, in the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly, a vote to impose abortion on Northern Ireland in July 2019 was passed by 332 votes to 99.

Under the new regulations, abortion is allowed up to the point of birth for all disabilities, including cleft lip, club foot and Down’s syndrome.

The regulations also introduce de-facto abortion on demand through to 24-weeks and allow sex-selective abortion through 12-weeks.

This has resulted in widespread opposition to the new regulations, particularly from the people of Northern Ireland, Northern Irish MPs and Northern Irish MLAs. 

Earlier this month, the Northern Ireland Assembly passed a motion opposing the regulations which have been imposed on the province by the UK Government.

Across the two votes held, 75 of 90 MLAs voted against the provisions in the regulations allowing abortion for non-fatal disabilities.

79% of respondents to the Government consultation on the regulations were opposed to any abortion provision in Northern Ireland beyond what was previously permitted. 

Additionally, an open letter signed by over 18,000 people from Northern Ireland was delivered to the Prime Minister on Tuesday by disability campaigner Heidi Crowter who has Down’s syndrome. The letter called on MPs to oppose the regulations and let the Northern Ireland Assembly decide on abortion law for Northern Ireland.

A spokesperson for Right to Life UK, Catherine Robinson said:

“Today is an incredibly tragic day for Northern Ireland, for the unborn child and everyone who supports the right to life.

“Despite the efforts of tens of thousands of Northern Irish people, MLAs, Northern Irish MPs and pro-life campaigners, like Heidi Crowter, the UK Government’s extreme abortion legislation continues to be in place as a result of today’s vote.

“And while we may not have been able to get the result we wanted today, the campaigning of tens of thousands of people has helped get a larger group of MPs taking a pro-life position on these regulations than the last similar vote.

“However, this is by no means the end.

“The battle on these regulations now moves to Northern Ireland and the Northern Ireland Assembly. MLAs must now urgently bring forward to repeal these extreme abortion regulations.”

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Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Dear reader,

Thanks to the hard work and dedication of people like you across the UK, the McArthur assisted suicide Bill in Scotland was defeated in March by 69 votes to 57.

Then, in April, the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill fell in the House of Lords.

Many commentators thought both Bills would become law.

If that had happened, governments in England, Scotland and Wales would now be preparing to roll out assisted suicide services.

Over the coming decades, this would have led to the deaths of many thousands of vulnerable people.

But that is not what happened.

Because supporters like you acted, those Bills were stopped.

Because of you, many vulnerable lives have been saved.

These were two very significant victories. But sadly, they are not the last battles we face this year.

The new Parliamentary session began on Wednesday. We now face three major threats.

  1. Attempts to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill and bypass the House of Lords

    The assisted suicide lobby, led by Dignity in Dying, a multi-million-pound pressure group, has made it clear that it is going to attempt to bring back the Leadbeater assisted suicide Bill in the next parliamentary session.

    It then plans to use the Parliament Acts to bypass the House of Lords and force the Bill into law.

  2. Labour Government plans for a major expansion of abortion provision, including financial incentives for ‘lunch-hour’ abortions

    Under these plans, the Government would financially incentivise major abortion providers, BPAS and MSI Reproductive Choices, to provide ‘lunch-hour’ or ‘same-day’ abortions.

    ‘Lunch-hour’ abortion services are walk-in abortion services designed to fit into a woman’s lunch hour.

    Women facing an unplanned pregnancy need time, care and support, not a system that gives abortion clinics a financial incentive to rush them through consultations, scans and abortions on the same day.

    If these plans go ahead, many more lives are likely to be ended by abortion here in the UK.

  3. Extreme abortion up to birth proposals in Scotland

    In Scotland, plans are moving forward to introduce an extreme abortion up to birth law. This would go far beyond the abortion law change recently backed by the Lords for England and Wales.

    A review of abortion law in Scotland, commissioned by Humza Yousaf when he was Scottish First Minister, recommended that the Scottish Government scrap the current 24-week time limit – and abortion be available on social grounds, including for sex-selective purposes, right up to birth.

    The final plans are expected to be brought forward as a Government Bill in the new Scottish Parliament, which began on Thursday.

If these three major threats succeed, thousands of vulnerable lives will be lost.

We cannot allow this to happen.

We can only defeat these three major threats with your help.

We ran our biggest campaigns ever to help defeat the assisted suicide Bills at Westminster and in Scotland.

That work has made a serious dent in our limited resources.

To cover this gap and ensure we can effectively defeat these three major threats in the coming months, we are aiming to raise at least £199,250 by midnight this Sunday (17 May 2026).

We are, therefore, appealing to you to please give as generously as you can.

Every donation, large or small, will make a crucial difference in saving the lives of the unborn and many others. Plus, if you are a UK taxpayer, £1 becomes £1.25 with Gift Aid at no extra cost to you.

By stopping these threats, YOU can save lives during this new Parliamentary session.

Will you donate now to help protect vulnerable lives from these three major threats?

EMERGENCY
APPEAL
to SAVE
lives

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.

Only hours left of the appeal to stop three major anti-life threats.