Protests as Ireland’s 1st abortion clinic opens

By Shawn Pogatchnik
Published October 18, 2012 4:00am ET
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Protests as Ireland’s 1st abortion clinic opens
A protester opposed to abortion holds a placard outside the Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast, Northern Ireland, Thursday, 18, 2012. The first abortion clinic on the island of Ireland has opened in Belfast, sparking protests by Christian conservatives from both the Catholic and Protestant sides of Northern Ireland's divide. The Marie Stopes center plans to offer the abortion pill to women less than nine weeks pregnant _ but only if doctors determine they're at risk of death or long-term health damage from their pregnancy. That's the law in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, where abortion is otherwise illegal. (AP Photo/Peter Morrison) | Peter Morrison

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) — The first abortion clinic on the island of Ireland opened Thursday in downtown Belfast, unleashing angry protests on the street and uniting Catholic and Protestant politicians in calls to investigate the new facility.

The clinic, run by the British family planning charity Marie Stopes, will be permitted to provide abortions only in exceptional circumstances to women less than nine weeks pregnant.

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