Irish woman takes abortion case to court of human rights

IRISH women pregnant with babies with potentially fatal abnormalities should be able to have an abortion in Ireland, the European Court of Human Rights will be told today.

A 44-year-old woman is taking a case to the court in Strasbourg after she had to travel to Britain for an abortion three years ago.

Known only as ‘D’, the woman was expecting twins but tests found one had died and the other was suffering from a rare abnormality called Edwards Syndrome, which affects the heart, lungs and digestive system.