Abortion laws - the differing picture across the UK and Ireland

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Here is a look at abortion laws in the UK as well as the expected changes in Ireland:

:: England and Wales

The Abortion Act 1967 made it legal for the termination of a pregnancy of up to 24 weeks by a registered medical practitioner, and only if two doctors agree there is a risk to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman.

Terminations after 24 weeks can be carried out if the doctors agree the mother's life is at risk or the child would be born with a severe disability.

A doctor can authorise an abortion without a second opinion if he deems that termination is "immediately necessary" to save the woman's life or prevent grave injury, the act says.

:: Scotland

The 1967 act was also applied to Scotland but powers over abortion were devolved to Holyrood as part of the 2016 Scotland Act.

Last summer, the Scottish Government announced that women from Northern Ireland were to be offered free abortions on the NHS in Scotland.

:: Northern Ireland

The legislation enacted in the rest of the UK was not extended to Northern Ireland, which has much stricter laws.

The Infant Life (Preservation) Act 1929 was extended to the country in 1945, meaning abortions were allowed if the life or mental health of the woman is at risk.

But the British Pregnancy Advisory Service said this is not the "reality" for many in Northern Ireland because of the threat of criminal sanctions.

Northern Irish women have been prosecuted and given suspended jail terms for using abortion pills to terminate pregnancies, a crime under the Offences Against The Person Act 1861, which also applies in England and Wales.

Fatal foetal abnormalities, when doctors believe an unborn child will die in or shortly after childbirth, and conceptions by rape or incest are not lawful grounds for a termination.

:: Ireland

The Government has published proposals for a new law giving relatively unrestricted access to abortion during the first 12 weeks, subject to medical advice and a period of reflection.

If, after 12 weeks, a woman's life is threatened or there could be serious harm to her health, two doctors will consider whether to allow the procedure.

Terminations will not be carried out after the foetus becomes viable, following 24 weeks of pregnancy.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he hoped legislation would pass by the end of the year.

:: Isle of Man

The Isle of Man Government agreed a Termination of Pregnancy (medical defences) Act in 1995, which allowed for an abortion up to 24 weeks if continuing the pregnancy threatened the life of the pregnant woman.

It included provisions for terminations to prevent grave permanent injury to the physical health of the woman, or mental health so long as it was confirmed by a consultant psychiatrist, for fatal foetal abnormalities and severe disabilities.

A victim of rape can have an abortion but only up to 12 weeks, so long as the woman reported the assault to the police and signed an affidavit and only if the doctors involved believed the woman.

A consultation paper from the island's government in March this year said: "Although the 1995 Act technically allowed abortions on the Island, only a handful are carried out each year."

:: Jersey

Under the Termination of Pregnancy (Jersey) Law 1997, abortion is legal so long as it is carried out up to 24 weeks by a registered practitioner and two doctors deem it necessary to save the woman's life, prevent grave physical or mental harm or the child would be severely disabled.