Women from across two countries march through Belfast for abortion rights The march was organised to follow on from International Women’s Day, and organisers say women’s rights are being denied

Hundreds of women have marched through Belfast demanding liberalised abortion rights, bringing the city centre to a standstill just a day after International Women’s Day.

Northern Ireland’s biggest political party, the DUP, which in Westminster supports Theresa May’s minority government, supports restrictions on terminations and has prevented change in the past.

Currently, terminations are only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman’s life is at risk or if there is a risk of permanent and serious damage to her mental or physical health.

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However, since the Republic of Ireland voted to legalise abortion in a landmark referendum there has been increasing pressure north of the border.

The 1967 Abortion Act which governs the rest of the UK was not extended to the country, meaning women’s only choice is often to travel.

Just a few months ago one woman tweeted about her journey from Northern Ireland to Liverpool, after she discovered her baby did not have a skull.

‘We won’t stop until we have free, safe and legal abortion’

“Women are being disadvantaged and discriminated against because they have to travel for healthcare, when healthcare should be provided in Northern Ireland”

Anne McVickar, Reclaim The Agenda

Emma Campbell, co-chair of the Alliance for Choice campaign group for change, said: “We know who we are and we know where we have come from – a long line of women; grandmothers, mothers and daughters who shake with indignation in the face of inequality.”

Hundreds paraded noisily through Belfast city centre to the City Hall, some dancing flamboyantly to the beat of drums, others chanting equality mantras.

Students also accused the Prime Minister of breaching women’s rights by not acting on the difference in provisions across the UK .

Placards and banners aplenty highlighted issues like domestic violence, while many pledged that Northern Ireland would not be left behind as abortion laws are relaxed elsewhere in the world.

Kellie O’Dowd, co-chair of Alliance for Choice, added: “We won’t stop until we have free safe and legal abortion for everyone who needs it on this island.

“And we won’t stop until that is true for our siblings the world over.”

A deeply divisive issue

Thousands have signed a petition calling for the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland and efforts have been made to promote change through Westminster since devolved Government at Stormont is suspended.

The issue is deeply divisive in Northern Ireland, with many women travelling to the rest of the UK.

It was only two years ago that the Westminster Government announced it would fund abortion care on the NHS for women who were forced to travel.

Caitriona McDonnell, 25, from Homeless Period Belfast, provides homeless and vulnerable women across Belfast with sanitary and other hygiene items.

She said women would not be equal while the DUP was in power.

“That sends (the message) to women that people don’t value us, they don’t trust us, they don’t respect us, they don’t trust us to make decisions for ourselves over our own bodies.”

Anne McVicar, chair of Reclaim the Agenda, a campaigning organisation which brings together women’s groups, trade unionists and individuals, said abortion rights are human rights.

She said: “Women are being disadvantaged and discriminated against because they have to travel for healthcare, when healthcare should be provided in Northern Ireland.”

Additional reporting by the Press Association