Women's rights groups estimate around 1,000 women travel to Britain each year for terminations, which they must finance themselves along with travel and other costs
By Anna Pujol-Mazzini
LONDON, June 29 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - Britain said on Thursdsay it would fund abortions in England for women coming from Northern Ireland, which has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe.
While the National Health Service provides free abortions to women in most of the United Kingdom, abortion is only permitted in Northern Ireland if a woman's life is at risk or if there is a serious risk to her health.
Finance minister Philip Hammond told parliament the government would "fund abortions in England for women arriving here from Northern Ireland".
Women's rights groups estimate around 1,000 women travel to Britain each year for terminations, which they must finance themselves along with travel and other costs.
Justine Greening, Britain's minister for women and equalities, said the government was committed to providing safe abortions.
"This is clearly a sensitive issue and one which has direct implications for equality in treatment of women from Northern Ireland," Greening wrote in a letter to parliamentarians.
Clinics in England charge around 600 pounds ($779) to terminate pregnancies of less than 14 weeks and up to 2,000 pounds for more advanced pregnancies.
Earlier this month, Britain's highest court rejected an appeal by a mother and daughter in their legal battle for women from Northern Ireland to receive free abortions in England.
Political parties in Northern Ireland are divided on abortion.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which struck a billion-pound deal in return for its support for British Prime Minister May's minority government, is among the most socially conservative in Europe and opposes widespread access to abortion.
($1 = 0.7699 pounds)
(Reporting by Anna Pujol-Mazzini @annapmzn, Editing by; Astrid Zweynert @azweynert. Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters that covers humanitarian news, women's rights, trafficking, property rights, climate change and resilience. Visit http://news.trust.org)
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