Irish teen wins case to abort
9 May 2007
A teenager in Northern Ireland has won a court battle to travel to Britain to abort her severely-disabled baby.
The 17-year-old was told that her child had anencephaly, and was missing parts of its skull and brain. Babies with the disease rarely live more than a few days after birth.
The lawyers of girl, known in court as Miss D, argued that she should be spared the trauma of carrying to term a child which could not live.
Laws in Northern Ireland only permit abortion if the mother's life is at risk or if she is suicidal. However travelling elsewhere for abortions was made legal in 1992.
Niav Keating explains Choice Ireland's view on the issue.