Lord Morrow: If Westminster passes this extreme abortion plan, Stormont will be able to modify it

Parliament will have to scrutinise and vote on them at some point before the summer break.

The key thing to understand about these regulations is that their practical effect is abortion on demand to 24 weeks, not just 12 weeks as is often suggested (the proposed basis for abortion to 24 weeks in the regulations is the same as the ground in the 1967 Act that has resulted in 98% of their more than nine million abortions) and then on the basis of any disability up to birth.

In this the regulations reflect the 1967 Abortion Act and are far more extreme than the legislation in the Republic of Ireland which is more restrictive on abortions between 12 weeks and viability on the grounds of the health of the mother (it is only permitted if there is a risk to the life or of serious harm to the health of the mother) and only allows abortions on the grounds of disability where the child has a fatal fetal abnormality, whereas in Northern Ireland abortion is legal for any kind of disability up to birth.

The proposed regulations for Northern Ireland, however, are more extreme up to 12 weeks gestation than the 1967 Act in that they propose that abortions should be provided on the basis of the certification of just one doctor, or one nurse or one midwife, whereas in Great Britain certification must be provided by two doctors.

The regulations are also more extreme because they effectively open the door to abortion on the basis of the sex of the baby up to 12 weeks, something you can now tell from 10 weeks gestation and which will soon be detectable from seven weeks.

The Northern Ireland Regulations are also more extreme in that they suggest that acting against the law should be regarded far less seriously.

While acting outside the law in the Republic can get you up to 14 years in prison, acting outside these regulation will not even result in a penal sentence, just a £5,000 fine.

If parliament passes the regulations the assembly would then be free to repeal or modify the legislation because abortion continues to be a devolved matter.

Lord Morrow, DUP peer, Westminster