![\"\"](\"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/01\/2.40919910.jpg\")
Belfast High Court has been urged to find that Northern Ireland\u2019s abortion laws are incompatible with human rights legislation.<\/p>\nBelfast High Court has been urged to find that Northern Ireland\u2019s abortion laws are incompatible with human rights legislation.<\/p>\n
The plea was made in the opening stages of a fresh legal challenge to the region\u2019s restrictive abortion laws.<\/p>\n
Sarah Ewart\u2019s case comes after the Supreme Court ruled last year that abortion laws in the region were in breach of human rights legislation.<\/p>\n
Ms Ewart, from Belfast, has pursued a long legal battle over her treatment and is back in court in the city.<\/p>\n
She traveled to England for a termination after being told her pregnancy had a fatal foetal diagnosis.<\/p>\n
Her legal challenge is being heard by Mrs Justice Siobhan Keegan in a hearing expected to last three days.<\/p>\n
There are two respondents in the case: Northern Ireland\u2019s Department of Justice and Department of Health.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland\u2019s Attorney General John Larkin is representing himself in the proceedings.<\/p>\n
Barrister Adam Straw, acting for Ms Ewart, started setting out the arguments in her case this morning.<\/p>\n
\u201cI respectfully invite this court to follow the lead of the Supreme Court,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Both pro-choice and anti-abortion campaigners gathered outside the High Court this morning ahead of the hearing.<\/p>\n
Ms Ewart described the experience of returning to court as \u201creally nerve-wracking\u201d but added: \u201cI am really hopeful that the High Court listens to what the Supreme Court has previously said \u2013 that women here who find themselves in the circumstances that I found myself in will get the help and the treatment that we need in our hospitals with our own medical teams.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a medical situation that I found myself in; five years down the line I am reliving the stress and the trauma all over again.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should not have to be here, sharing my story again, so I am hoping this time will be the final time through the courts, that we will get the help that we need.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Ewart is being supported by Amnesty International, one of five intervenors in the case.<\/p>\n
The others are the Human Rights Commission, Humanists UK, Center for Reproductive Rights and Precious Life.<\/p>\n
In a judgment last June, five of the seven Supreme Court judges ruled that Northern Ireland\u2019s abortion law breached the UK\u2019s human rights obligations.<\/p>\n
However, they concluded that the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission \u2013 which brought the case \u2013 did not have the power to bring the proceedings as it was not itself a \u201cvictim\u201d of any unlawful act.<\/p>\n
A fatal foetal abnormality (FFA) diagnosis means doctors believe an unborn child will die either in the womb or shortly after birth.<\/p>\n
It is not grounds for a legal abortion in Northern Ireland. The procedure is allowed if the mother\u2019s life is in danger.<\/p>\n
Northern Ireland\u2019s chief medical officer recommended change for such cases in 2016 but the Stormont Assembly collapsed soon afterwards and the matter was not addressed.<\/p>\n
Both sides of the argument held placards outside Belfast High Court on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Some supporting Ms Ewart said \u201cNow it is time for Women in Northern Ireland\u201d \u2013 a reference to recent reforms in the Republic of Ireland.<\/p>\n
Those who favored the status quo carried signs which said \u201cLife is a right, not a privilege\u201d.<\/p>\n
Others said judges and politicians had a responsibility to protect that right.<\/p>\n
Bernie Smyth from anti-abortion group Precious Life said: \u201cWe are saying this is barbaric, it is wrong and it should never be introduced here in Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n
She said the Supreme Court\u2019s intervention in Ms Ewart\u2019s case was not binding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was the opinion of the judges at that time, we could have another set of judges who would have a different opinion.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have also heard from our own court in 2017 who clearly stated that this issue is for the democratic process, it is not the right of the court.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe would be very hopeful that this court would see that the rights of every unborn child, whether that child has a life-limiting disability, has a right to be protected in law and should not be discriminated against through abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n
Amnesty campaigns manager Grainne Teggart said Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley should have moved to change the law before now.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a damning indictment of the British Government that women like Sarah are being forced through the courts to have their rights realized.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe call on the UK Government to bring an end to the suffering of women in Northern Ireland and change the law.\u201d<\/p>\n