DUP: we will consider abortion law once Stormont is restored

That was the message from its Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson today, speaking in the wake of the 144-pages-worth of legal opinion issued by Supreme Court judges.

He said the views were “non-binding” – either upon the Westminster government or a future Northern Irish one.

“This is a devolved matter and any attempt to change the law without the consent of the Assembly would be a breach of the devolution settlement,” he said.

“Sinn Fein should now join with the other parties in Northern Ireland and immediately restore the Executive and allow local legislators to consider issues such as abortion.”

He also went on to tell Radio Ulster: “If the Secretary of State will call the Assembly together tomorrow, the DUP will be there, we will appoint our ministers, and I give a commitment we will address these issues in short order.”

He said they would “consult with civil society” beforehand.

Although it had voted at Stormont in 2016 against relaxing the law in cases of rape and incest, plus fatal foetal abnormality, that same year the DUP requested that a working group be set up to consider such foetal abnormality cases.

This April, it recommended “a change is made to abortion law to provide for termination of pregnancy where the abnormality is of such a nature as to be likely to cause death either before birth, during birth or in the early period after birth”.

This April, the working group (made up of medical officials and civil servants) recommended changing the law “to provide for termination of pregnancy where the abnormality is of such a nature as to be likely to cause death either before birth, during birth, or in the early period after birth”.

Sir Jeffrey also criticised the NI Human Rights Commission for taking a case “beyond its competence”.

Asked how much the court case had cost the people of Northern Ireland, its head Les Allamby replied: “It has cost us around £70,000 a year for the last three years. In terms of getting clarity on whether our law is human rights-compliant or not, I think that is money well spent.”