CAMPAIGNERS said today that a High Court upholding of the ban on Northern Irish women receiving free NHS abortions in England simply exposed “outdated and restrictive laws.”

The ruling came in a test case brought by a girl, referred to only as “A.”

In October 2012, a then 15-year-old A and her mother travelled to a Marie Stopes clinic in Manchester to have a pregnancy terminated, having been denied in Northern Ireland. 

The operation cost £600 plus travel costs of some £300, half of which was provided by the Abortion Network, a Northern Irish voluntary organisation.

In Northern Ireland, termination of pregnancies generally remains unlawful unless carried out to preserve the life of the mother.

Mr Justice King said yesterday that differences in the legal position had, “not surprisingly, led to a steady stream” of pregnant women from Northern Ireland coming to England to access abortion services not available at home.

But he ruled that the Health Secretary’s duty to promote a comprehensive health service in England “is a duty in relation to the physical and mental health of the people of England” and that this duty did not extend “to persons who are ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland.”

British Pregnancy Advisory Service chief executive Ann Furedi said the ruling should serve as a reminder of “the appalling fact that women from Northern Ireland are forced to travel to England every day to access a fundamental healthcare service.”

She added: “They should be able to obtain the service at home, or they are forced to take chances by illegally buying abortion medication online.

“Outlawing abortion does not prevent women having abortions, it simply increases the physical, financial and emotional burden of obtaining the care they need.”

Amnesty International Northern Ireland campaigner Grainne Teggart said: “This ruling puts the spotlight on the outdated and restrictive laws on abortion in Northern Ireland. 

“It is unacceptable that women in Northern Ireland are designated second-class citizens in terms of their right to access healthcare.”