Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“While I believe the original judgement of Horner J is seriously flawed and requires to be appealed, I welcome the fact that today he rowed back from judge made law on abortion and recognised that it is for the legislature to make the law. It must remain for the Assembly, not the courts, to make the law. Hence, the practical impact of the Judge’s ruling is that our law remains as was and, correctly, will remain so unless and until the legislature decides otherwise.
“The most basic and fundamental right for any one is the right to life. TUV believes that the unborn child is entitled to this right and resist any attempt to change the current law.
“The present law of Northern Ireland is not an absolute bar to abortion in, for example, a case of severe anencephaly. As the Bourne test makes clear, and as amplified by Girvan LJ in the 2009 Judicial Review, lawful termination is possible where there is a real and serious risk to a woman’s physical or mental health, which is either long term or permanent. Thus, the mother whose mental health is so damaged by carrying a child with fatal foetal abnormality can at present avail of lawful termination within Northern Ireland.
“In the case of rape let us not forget that rape is a criminal offence and that the offence of rape is something which is judged in the courts. It is not a judgment which should be left up to a doctor.”