R (on the application of a and B) (Appellants) v Secretary of State for Health (Respondent)

The case before the Supreme Court involved an appeal by two women, A and B, who sought a judicial review of the Secretary of State for Health's decision not to provide free abortion services to women who were citizens of the UK but usually resident in Northern Ireland. The appellants argued that the Secretary of State's failure to provide such services was unlawful both in public law and because it was in breach of their human rights. The legal issues before the court were whether the Secretary of State's failure to exercise a power to make a direction that would have enabled UK citizens usually resident in Northern Ireland to undergo abortions in England free of charge under the NHS in England was unlawful and if it violated their human rights. The court held that the Secretary of State's failure was not unlawful and did not violate their human rights. The court found that the Secretary of State was entitled to respect the democratic decision of the people of Northern Ireland and to decide not to alter the consequences of that decision by making such services available to them free of charge under the public scheme in England. The court also found that the Secretary of State's decision struck a fair balance between the rights of the women and the interests of the UK community as a whole. The appeal was dismissed.