Antenatal screening in Northern Ireland and Women’s Rights

Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland (NI) in October 2019, following the introduction by the United Kingdom (UK) government of the Northern Ireland Executive Formation Act 2019 (Aiken and Bloomer, 2019). The NI Abortion Regulations introduced in March 2020, allowed abortion services to be provided under a broad set of conditions, including in cases of ‘severe fetal impairment or fatal fetal abnormality’ (Regulations, Section 7). Following a delay in the commissioning of services, interim services were eventually provided, but these were focused on early medical abortions (up to 10 weeks’ gestation), using medication. Some terminations due to diagnoses of severe or fatal fetal abnormality took place during that period, but monitoring data on gestations, and method of abortion have not been published. Beyond these criteria and parameters, abortion seekers were required to travel elsewhere to access services including some cases of severe or fatal fetal abnormality (Kirk et al., 2021). As of 24 October 2022, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has led commissioning, with full implementation of services enacted in late 2023. The adoption of the NI Abortion Regulations 2020, with its Section 7 allowing terminations on the ground of severe or fatal fetal abnormality, has brought into sharp focus access to antenatal screening, specifically during the first trimester. Unlike the rest of the UK, this screening is not routinely offered in NI and as a result, most fetal abnormalities are diagnosed following the anomaly scan which typically occurs at around 18-20 weeks’ gestation. This policy briefing has been informed by two expert roundtables held in January 2024. The first roundtable was attended by families bereaved following diagnoses of severe or fatal fetal abnormalities and a representative from the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA), the regulator for health and social care in NI. The second roundtable was attended by health professionals involved in the delivery of maternity and fetal medicine services in NI, as well as academics and support organisations

Lodestar in the time of coronavirus? Interpreting international obligations to realise the right to health during the COVID-19 pandemic

While the right to health has gained significant momentum in international law over the past two years, there is little clarity on what it means for States to comply with this right in times of COVID-19. Taking Articles 2(1) and 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as a starting point, our article follows an approach guided by the rules of treaty interpretation under the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties to suggest how right to health obligations to prevent, treat and control infectious diseases should be interpreted in relation to COVID-19, and how these obligations interact with general obligations of immediacy, progressive realisation, minimum core and international assistance and cooperation in this context. This article makes a novel contribution to clarifying the right to health during COVID-19, thus enhancing capacity for the oversight of this right; its incorporation in global health law; and the understanding of its corresponding obligations in future global health emergencies

How can (I)NGOs engage with the European Committee of Social Rights under the monitoring procedures of the European Social Charter

Consultancy for the Council of Europe on How can (I)NGOs engage with the European Committee of Social Rights under the monitoring procedures of the European Social Charte

The protection of sexual and reproductive health in European human rights law: perspectives from the Council of Europe

The recent recognition of a ‘right to sexual and reproductive health’ in human rights law and the volatility of national legal safeguards on such issues (as highlighted by recent events in Europe), call for a discussion on how sexual and reproductive health is currently protected in European human rights law. This article will thus, explore whether and how human rights bodies of the Council of Europe protect individuals’ sexual and reproductive health through their monitoring procedures. It will analyse the case-law of the European Court of Human Rights and that of the European Committee of Social Rights since 2000, to finally conclude whether or not these indirectly enable the recognition of a right to sexual and reproductive health in the future of the Council of Europe

The protection of non-nationals' economic, social and cultural rights in UN human rights treaties

The decade of austerity policies resulting from the 2008 economic crisis significantly impeded the realisation of economic, social and cultural (ESC) rights worldwide, especially for non-nationals who became targets of populist nationalist ideologies. The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and its subsequent recession have heightened existing levels of inequalities, putting non-nationals’ access to health, housing, food, water and work under unprecedented strains. It is thus, crucial to analyse the extent to which UN human rights treaties recognise non-nationals’ ESC rights, in order to assess their ability to offer protection in this context. This article sheds light on the ambiguities of key UN human rights treaties in this regard. It then analyses the attempts of relevant UN treaty bodies to circumvent such issues; and finally suggests legal paths allowing UN treaty bodies to further assert their protection of non-nationals’ ESC rights during the COVID-19 pandemic

Using the right to health and to promote universal health coverage: A better tool for protecting non-nationals' access to affordable health care?

Five years ago, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution on universal health coverage, followed a year later by a resolution from the United Nations General Assembly. In these resolutions, states promised to deliver affordable health care for everyone, referring to notions of equity and human rights law, particularly a human right to health. However, the explosion of migration coupled with the post-2008 bleak economic climate have led societies worldwide to restrict, or at least challenge, the affordability of access to national health systems for non-nationals. It is in this light that the claims of universality made by universal health coverage should be challenged. This article, therefore, will question the effectiveness of this global health policy in guaranteeing access to affordable health care for non-nationals and will ask whether and how legal avenues such as the right to health should be used to address potential weaknesses

Written submission from Dr Claire Lougarre (ANI0024) [Abortion law in Northern Ireland inquiry]

In this submission, I will first outline the obligations of the UK under international human rights law with regard to women’s access to abortion, as set in the United Nations and in the Council of Europe. I will then highlight how the UK should act with regard to its abortion law in Northern Ireland, in order to reconcile its current legislation, including its devolution settlement, with its international obligations. This submission concludes that the UK is bound to various human rights treaties, all of which are progressively interpreted as obliging states to provide access to abortion services – especially when a pregnancy jeopardises the woman’s life and health, when it results from rape, and in instances of serious foetal abnormality. As a result, the UK should reform Northern Ireland abortion law in order to fulfil its international obligations.<br/

What does the right to health mean? The interpretation of Article 11 of the European Social Charter by the European Committee of Social Rights

Social rights, and the right to health in particular, are still criticised for the vagueness of their legal content. What does realising the right to health mean, and when does a State breach its obligations under human rights law? Little research has attempted to answer those questions and key actors such as judges, States, NGOs and individuals, continue to face a high degree of uncertainty. Clari cation must be sought to improve the realisation of this right, but how? When human rights supervisory bodies evaluate the implementation of the right to health in their monitoring procedures, they must declare whether or not this right has been realised, and justify why. By consequence, their interpretation contributes to delineating the legal content of this right. To overcome the dearth of literature on the substance of the European Social Charter, this article will thus examine how its supervisory body, the European Committee of Social Rights, interprets the right to health in its reporting and complaints procedures