Belfast City Hall to be lit for abortion campaign on Easter Sunday

Belfast City Council has voted to illuminate City Hall on Easter Sunday next year for a global day of action to “de-stigmatise” abortion.

Councillors voted by 36 to 14 at a meeting on Monday 2 November to light the building on 28 March 2027, Belfast Live reported. The date was chosen to coincide with the Global Day of Action to De-stigmatise Abortion. Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party and People Before Profit voted in favour. The DUP and the UUP voted against.

Green councillor Anthony Flynn, who introduced the motion, said: “One of the most important aspects of this civic building is to spread awareness of people’s rights.”

DUP alderman Dean McCullough said: “It was an insensitive proposal initially, so to then request another on what is arguably the holiest week in the Christian calendar makes it even more insensitive, if that is possible.” He added: “For many, turning City Hall into effectively an abortion billboard was simply a step too far.”

September plan halted

The vote comes weeks after plans to light City Hall for International Safe Abortion Day on 28 September were halted. The proposal, made at the request of the National Women’s Council of Ireland, had been approved by the council’s Strategic Policy and Resources Committee, but DUP councillors used the council’s “call-in” procedure to challenge it, CARE reported. The call-in was found to have merit on procedural grounds because equality screening had not been carried out before the decision, Belfast Live reported.

A petition organised by Precious Life opposing the September lighting gathered about 20,000 signatures. It said: “City Hall should be a symbol of Belfast, not a billboard for abortion.”

Michael Robinson, executive director of SPUC, said of the new vote, in a statement: “The vile pro-death fanfare is back, and somehow worse than before.”

Abortion was decriminalised in Northern Ireland by Westminster legislation in 2019.