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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
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| Anti-abortionists win court bid | Anti-abortionists win court bid |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Anti-abortion campaigners have won a High Court challenge to clarify government guidelines on abortion in Northern Ireland. | Anti-abortion campaigners have won a High Court challenge to clarify government guidelines on abortion in Northern Ireland. |
| The Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (Spuc) claimed guidance to health professionals was misleading and legally inaccurate. | |
| The High Court ruled the Department of Health's guidelines be withdrawn. | The High Court ruled the Department of Health's guidelines be withdrawn. |
| The court found the guidelines failed to deal properly with counselling and conscientious objection. | The court found the guidelines failed to deal properly with counselling and conscientious objection. |
| The judge, Lord Justice Girvan, stopped short of quashing the document issued by the Department of Health in March. | The judge, Lord Justice Girvan, stopped short of quashing the document issued by the Department of Health in March. |
| Spuc was seeking a declaration that the decision to publish the advice to health professionals was unlawful. | |
| However, Lord Justice Girvan said: "An order directing that the guidance be withdrawn must be the appropriate relief in the circumstances where it has been found to be misleading." | However, Lord Justice Girvan said: "An order directing that the guidance be withdrawn must be the appropriate relief in the circumstances where it has been found to be misleading." |
| The judge said that, as the guidelines stand, people could offer counselling which is arguably, unlawful. | |
| He said the Department of Health should, in particular, consider what guidance should be given to deal with the situation where a pregnant woman wants to have an abortion but does not fulfil the criteria for an abortion to be carried out legally in Northern Ireland. | |
| 'Trap for unwary' | |
| The judge said that the department must also examine the relationship between counselling and making clinical judgments. | |
| He ordered that guidance on conscientious objection should be reconsidered. | |
| He said the current guidelines were open to misinterpretation, the language was "ambiguous" and left doctors and staff unclear as to what was expected of them. | |
| The judge said the guidance needed to be absolutely clear otherwise it represented "a trap to the unwary". | |
| The judge awarded costs to Spuc. | |
| Abortion is illegal in NI, except in limited circumstances where the mother's life or mental well-being are considered at risk. | Abortion is illegal in NI, except in limited circumstances where the mother's life or mental well-being are considered at risk. |
| Spuc sought a judicial review of the document, which was the first published guide for health professionals in Northern Ireland on terminating pregnancy. | |
| The Royal College of Midwives has said the guidelines bring greater clarity to the legal position of staff who take part in terminations. | The Royal College of Midwives has said the guidelines bring greater clarity to the legal position of staff who take part in terminations. |