A cross-party group of MPs has called on the UK government to liberalise Northern Ireland’s draconian abortion laws, following a landmark inquiry.

Under Northern Ireland’s current Victorian-era abortion law, which has been in place since 1861, terminations are banned in virtually all circumstances – including in cases of rape, incest and fatal foetal abnormalities. It is also a criminal offence to administer or supply drugs or instruments for the purpose of procuring an abortion, meaning that people who help others access abortions – whether they are medical staff, friends or family members – can be prosecuted.

Abortion was legalised in England, Scotland and Wales under the Abortion Act 1967, but this legislation has never been extended to Northern Ireland. As a result, thousands of women in the country have been forced to go through with unwanted pregnancies, endure the expense, disruption and potential trauma of travelling abroad for a termination, or risk having an illegal abortion at home. And the risks are real. In 2016, a 19-year-old woman took abortion pills at her flat in Belfast. After her housemates reported her to the police, she was handed a three-month suspended prison sentence.

Northern Ireland’s abortion laws must be reformed by Theresa May’s government, says landmark new report