"I thank the hon. Lady for that intervention, and I think the Minister needs in his summing-up to give some assurances to hon. Members here today that there will be clarity for people in Northern Ireland and that we will not continue to have this fear culture, bringing a lack …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is absolutely right, but we need to grasp this issue fully and not apologise for the fact that we have taken the time to legislate. We firmly want to see the legislation that we have passed put into law and to be clarified for those who live …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"My hon. Friend is right. The Select Committee report, just a year ago, found that there was a postcode lottery for provision and showed that lack of access to abortion in Northern Ireland drove many women to have to seek abortions in England, without the support of family and friends. …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"I pay tribute to the hon. Lady. She has spoken extremely eloquently, not just here today but in the Chamber, on that issue. She is right that there is a massive tension when it comes to abortion and what constitutes the grounds for it. She is right to speak out …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"I will look carefully at the measure that my right hon. Friend is talking about because although this is a live debate, it should not fog what is a wrong and inappropriate system in Northern Ireland where women in very difficult situations have not been able to access a service …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"The hon. Lady is right to say that there is room for more than just the General Medical Council to be involved in communicating these changes. It should go broader than that. I have to say that members of the Select Committee were quite shocked at the lack of involvement …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"I again welcome the Government’s work to ensure that, after many decades, women in Northern Ireland have proper access to abortion, as women in the rest of the UK do. I particularly thank the Minister for the way in which he is handling the matter. I think the whole House …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland is absolutely right that the best way to deal with the vast majority of the issues in these reports is through a re-established Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly. He is also right that many of the provisions were not …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for St Helens North (Conor McGinn), who made a powerful argument for extending same-sex marriage across Northern Ireland. I was the Minister who did not extend same-sex marriage to Northern Ireland at the time, because of the devolution settlement, so I …..." Maria Miller - View Speech
"My hon. Friend gets to the nub of the matter. The human rights organisation in Northern Ireland did not have standing to take a case, because of a strange error in the way that the law was drafted. Presumably, that could be put right quickly—possibly through this Bill—so that individuals …..." Maria Miller - View Speech