Pro-choice activists gather in the grounds of Stormont Parliament, Belfast.
They gave Northern Ireland’s assembly – suspended since January 2017 – until Oct 21 to institute alterations to the reforms, which will see the province broadly match the rest of Britain.The assembly was briefly restored, but without support from opposition parties, they were unable to constitute an executive and pass any changes.
“A new legal framework for lawful access to abortion services in Northern Ireland will be put in place by March 31, 2020,” he said.“This means at the latest, the first civil same-sex marriages will take place on the week of Valentine’s Day 2020,” Smith added.The Members of Legislative Assembly who returned to the chamber of devolved government at Stormont were predominantly from the anti-abortion Democratic Unionist Party .
Around 150 anti-abortion protesters spent the morning and afternoon singing and praying with placards reading “Not in my name”.