This petition was submitted during the 2017 to 2019 Parliament
Rejected petition Legalise abortion in cases of rape for the entirety of the United Kingdom.
Rejected on
In parts of the country it is still illegal to get an abortion on the basis of rape. This is unacceptable in our modern society. We can not claim to respect women's rights if we do not allow women this basic right over their own body.
Why was this petition rejected?
It’s about something that the UK Government or Parliament is not directly responsible for.
We can’t accept your petition because responsibility for the law on abortion in Northern Ireland is devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Even though the Northern Ireland Assembly is not sitting, the UK Parliament hasn’t formally taken back responsibility for this issue.
You could start a new petition calling on the UK Parliament to change the law, to take back the responsibility for the law on abortion and then to change the law in Northern Ireland.
We only reject petitions that don’t meet the petition standards.