Story highlights 78% of British people would like to see abortion decriminalized in Northern Ireland, a poll found

65% of those living in Northern Ireland believe that having an abortion should not be a crime

(CNN) Nearly two-thirds of people in Northern Ireland -- and more than three-quarters of the UK public -- believe that abortion should be decriminalized in the country, according to polls released Wednesday by Amnesty International.

Pregnancy terminations are illegal in Northern Ireland, except in cases in which the mother's life or health is at risk. The 1967 Abortion Act, which broadly legalized the procedure in the rest of the UK, has never been extended to Northern Ireland, where an 1861 law still stands.

One of the most restrictive abortion laws in the world makes the procedure illegal even in the cases of rape, incest and fatal fetal abnormality.

An overwhelming majority of British people (78%) would like to see abortion decriminalized in Northern Ireland, the only place in the British Isles where it is against the law, the online poll found.

Meanwhile, 65% of those living in Northern Ireland believe that having an abortion should not be a crime, according to another poll commissioned by Amnesty.

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