Ireland's abortion laws are back in the spotlight after the United Nations Human Rights Committee says a woman was subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Experts examined a case where a woman carrying a foetus with a fatal abnormality was forced to choose between carrying it to full-term or travelling abroad for an abortion.
In 2011 Amanda Mellet was denied an abortion after learning that the foetus she was carrying had a fatal foetal abnormality.
She traveled to the UK for an abortion.
The UN Human Rights Committee ruled that Ireland's abortion laws violated Ms Mellet’s right to freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.
Colm O'Gorman from Amnesty International says this ruling shows it's time to change Ireland's abortion laws.
The Committee says Ireland is obliged to prevent similar violations from occurring and the State should amend its law on voluntary termination of pregnancy, including if necessary changing the constitution.
