Schoolgirl traumatised after being wrongly sent to England for abortion
A schoolgirl who was wrongly sent from Northern Ireland to England for a termination was traumatised by the ordeal, her mother has said.
She said the 18-year-old was forced to wait for a flight home after the procedure while bleeding and cramping.
The teenager was 18 weeks pregnant and could have been treated in Northern Ireland, but was sent to London due to confusion by the booking provider over the services available.
Abortion is available in Northern Ireland up to 24 weeks and pro-choice charity Alliance for Choice warned the teenager could be one of many women and girls who have travelled unnecessarily.
The 18-year-old, whom the BBC is calling Olivia to protect her anonymity, was getting ready to sit her A-levels when she had the abortion in 2025.
Her mother said the whole process was traumatic for her and was made worse by the fact she was away from home.
Before the decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland in 2019, thousands of women travelled every year to get a termination.
But abortion services were introduced in Northern Ireland in 2020 on an ad-hoc basis.
The Department of Health (DoH) formally comissioned services at the end of 2022.
Despite that, the most recent figures showed in 2023, 145 women from Northern Ireland travelled to England or Wales for an abortion – including 60 who were less than 12 weeks' pregnant.
Emma Campbell from Alliance for Choice said many of those women probably did not realise the relevant services existed in Northern Ireland.
"We have a great team of doctors, midwives, nurses, who are all voluntarily willing to do this service," she told NI.
"But some people are just not getting access to it.
Campbell said this was due to a lack of public information about accessing services, as well as the fact there was no local booking system to secure an appointment.
What can women from NI do if they need an abortion?
Women in Northern Ireland seeking an abortion have to contact the England-based British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS).
Its role is to direct patients to their local healthcare trust.
In Olivia's case, when she contacted BPAS, instead of being referred locally, she was wrongly sent to a clinic in London.
Her mother said she was told the mistake was made due to confusion over how many weeks into a pregnancy an abortion was allowed to be carried out in Northern Ireland.
BPAS chief executive Heidi Stewart said while as a healthcare provider the organisation could not comment on individual cases, it was "committed to providing safe, high-quality and compassionate care to everyone" in need of support.
She added that all complaints and feedback were carefully reviewed so that the organisation could strengthen and improve its care.
'Massive flaw in the system'
Olivia's mother said the family, who are from County Down were "angry and upset" to hear she should never have had to travel.
"I can't believe that in 2026 - seven years after abortion was liberalised here - women are still having to travel to England," Olivia's mother said.
"Services are in place in Northern Ireland. How on earth can that be allowed to happen?"
She said there was "a massive flaw in the system".
She said she agreed there should be a local booking system to ensure "no other woman has to travel".
Campbell said Alliance For Choice believed from the 2023 figures that there were "way more people travelling than there should be".
She said while most people were treated the way they should be, it was a "really confusing system".
"For most people, it's the very first time you're encountering the system," she said.
"It's hard to navigate and it's hard to understand why they're phoning England when they should be phoning here and they get treatment here."
In a statement, the DoH said it had worked to raise public awareness on how to access abortion care – including across social media channels.
It said it considered its arrangements with BPAS as the provider of a central access point for abortion services in Northern Ireland "to be working efficiently within the available funding envelope".
It added that it met regularly with BPAS to discuss a range of issues including the referral pathway.
The department said it anticipated that the number of women travelling from Northern Ireland to England and Wales would "continue to trend downwards with services and access information available locally".
The five health and social care trusts in Northern Ireland which operate clinics and hospitals provide abortion services.
The Belfast, Northern, Southern and Western trusts offer abortions for pregnancies up to 12 weeks.
Those beyond 12 weeks should be referred to a clinic in the South Eastern Trust, which carries out surgical procedures up to 20 weeks' gestation, as well as up to 24 weeks for those who have gone through the regional foetal medicine service.
Alliance Party health spokesperson Nuala McAllister said she was "surprised" and "concerned" by the number of women who travelled in 2023.
She said she believed it was because they had "no idea" about what services are available.
"Whenever I did a quick Google search of what's available, as an elected representative, it was heard for me to actually find out information," she said.
"And so we're having women in a very vulnerable position having to travel for abortions when they should rightly and deserve to get that access here."
What happened to Olivia?
Warning: Some readers may find these details upsetting
When Olivia was referred to England, she was told her travel and accommodation costs would be covered for herself and one other person.
She chose to go with her boyfriend, but her mother said had she known what to expect she would have preferred her to have gone with her.
"It was a two stage process over two days, so early morning flight to London, visit clinic, start process, then sit in a hotel room far from home, to then start leaking amniotic fluid, having been given a sheet of paper that says you may start to have contractions and possibly miscarry and there may be signs of life," her mother said.
"She had to sit in a hotel room with her boyfriend, not knowing what was going to happen next, and there was nothing I could do as she was so far away."
The next day, Olivia had to have a procedure under general anaesthetic.
"She was kept for a couple of hours, then back in a taxi to the airport to sit for hours as they had to check out of the hotel.
"So imagine sitting in an airport having just had a horrible procedure carried out, bleeding and cramping waiting for a flight home."
Olivia's mother added that she had to pay for her travel and accommodation upfront, but BPAS had told her she would be reimbursed.
She said after almost a year trying to access the funds, they finally received them just days ago.
