NORTHERN IRELAND:Members of Marie Stopes International told the Northern Assembly justice committee that it would operate within the law on abortion but refused to disclose how many terminations, if any, it had carried out or expected to, at its Belfast clinic.
Marie Stopes UK and Europe director Tracey McNeill, its Belfast director Dawn Purvis and Dr Paula Frankly were questioned for over two hours at Stormont yesterday about the clinic that opened in October, the first private clinic to provide legal abortion on the island of Ireland.
Ms McNeill told the committee the Marie Stopes “mission” was clear – “children by choice, not chance”.
In Northern Ireland abortion is permitted only if the mother’s life is in danger or where she faces serious physical and mental health risks. The most recent figures show that under the public health system in the North, there were 44 such abortions in 2008-09, 36 in 2009-10 and 43 in 2010-11.
The clinic offers medical abortion up to nine weeks’ gestation. A number of members of the committee, chaired by DUP MLA Paul Givan, queried Ms McNeill on how many abortions had taken place or were expected to take place at its Belfast clinic.
“We will not be releasing any figures or numbers around the number of men and women that we have seen at our clinic,” she said.
She said Marie Stopes wanted to maintain the confidentiality of its Belfast operations. At present there is no legal requirement to release such information. “If the law changes in Northern Ireland . . . then we would absolutely fully co-operate,” she said.
Former Progressive Unionist Party MLA Ms Purvis was asked if the location of the clinic, close to bus and rail services, was intentional. She replied that it was and that in choosing the Great Victoria Street location she had been “thinking of clients from all of the island coming to avail of our services”.
