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The Parliament of Northern Ireland, Belfast. REUTERS / Clodagh Kilcoyne

Abortion is decriminalized de facto from October 22 in Northern Ireland, according to the threat of the British Parliament, if no government agreement was found at midnight on October 21st.

With our correspondent in Dublin, Emeline Vin

For the first time in two and a half years, members of Parliament attended the Stormont Assembly in Belfast on October 21st. The Unionist party of the DUP hoped to vote urgently a law called "defense of unborn children" to prevent the legalization of abortion.

In order to vote on a text, the Assembly had to elect a "Speaker", a Speaker of the House, with the support of the Sinn Féin Nationalists as Unionists, the two traditional camps in Northern Ireland. In less than an hour, nationalist MPs, at least those who agreed to sit, left the House, effectively defeating the bill.

Absence of executive

For almost three years, Northern Ireland has had no executive, for lack of an agreement between the Sinn Féin nationalists and the unionists of the DUP, despite the pressure exerted by London. His "threat" between October 22 in action: no woman can no longer be prosecuted for having aborted. Another part, less publicized: the marriage for all will be allowed from the year 2020.

For many North Irish politicians, this failure to reach agreement on a subject as divisive as abortion renders the rapid restoration of executive power even more uncertain.

► Also read: Northern Ireland: Belfast IVG Legalization Event