An Irish woman forced to choose between carrying her baby with a fatal congenital defect to term and going abroad for an abortion had her rights violated and deserves compensation, a United Nations panel said on Thursday.
Abortion laws in majority Roman Catholic Ireland are among the most restrictive in the world: a complete ban on terminating a pregnancy was lifted in 2013 after large street protests from both sides. It is now allowed if a mother's life is in danger.
The woman known as "AM" complained to the U.N. Human Rights Committee after being told in the 21st week of pregnancy in November 2011 that her baby would die in the womb or shortly after birth, which led her to have an abortion in Britain.