BEYOND GOD: ABORTION POLICY IN POST-CONFLICT NORTHERN IRELAND

Abstract

Compared to the rest of the world, Northern Ireland is an anomalous polity whose unique political background restricts its social policy in ways more nuanced than expected. This thesis focuses on the inconsistencies found within Northern Ireland’s abortion policy and analyzes why they exist. Existing literature attributes religious conservatism, traditional gender roles, and dismissal of international human rights standards as factors that shape abortion policy in the staunchly traditional state of Northern Ireland. Yet these are not the only factors that exist. Northern Ireland’s conservative policy also results from its long history of ethno-national conflict between the Catholics and the Protestants, as well as the Good Friday Agreement (GFA) that ended it. In fear of disrupting the fragile compromise, the GFA prevents any opportunity for change in abortion policy. This thesis implicates the broader issue of social progress in post-conflict societies. The ultimate goal is to pinpoint the roadblocks and obstacles in changing abortion policy so that both Northern Ireland and other post-conflict regions around the world can formulate effective mechanisms to surpass such problems. Hopefully, post-conflict countries become aware of these pitfalls and can formulate peace settlements that expand beyond an initial peace framework to better incorporate modern social policy.