Plans to change the Isle of Man’s abortion laws have been approved by the House of Keys by a margin of 22-2.
The Abortion Reform Bill would allow women to have terminations within the first 14 weeks of their pregnancy, with other restrictions also being eased.
Under existing Manx law, abortions can only be carried out if a pregnancy is the result of rape or because of mental health concerns.
Members of the Legislative Council will now consider the bill. . . [Full text]
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- Note: the Abortion Reform Bill as passed by the Keys includes a simple protection of conscience provision covering all “relevant” professionals (registered medical practitioners, nurses, or midwives) and pharmacists. It requires objecting practitioners to provide information, but not referral.