A judge for the High Court in Belfast on has declared that Northern Ireland’s abortion laws, which only allow abortion when the mother faces the risk of death or serious injury, are not compatible with human rights laws.

Judge Mark Horner’s decision, which echoes a ruling he issued last month , does not mandate a change in the law but rather pushes the Parliament of Northern Ireland to agree on new abortion legislation.

Last month Horner held that by failing to provide exceptions for women who have been victims of sexual abuse and cases in which a fatal fetal abnormality is present during the pregnancy, Northern Ireland had violated Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.