A SPECIAL grant should be set up to support Northern Irish women who travel to Scotland to have an abortion, an MSP has said.
Scottish Labour’s Kezia Dugdale called for the introduction of a travel bursary “for as long as Northern Irish women are denied their basic human rights”.
It comes as the Supreme Court rejected a bid by human rights campaigners to challenge the legality of Northern Ireland’s strict abortion laws.
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Speaking during First Minister’s Questions, Ms Dugdale said: "In Northern Ireland, some women have received longer jail sentences for having an abortion than the men who raped them in first place.
"I urge the First Minister to arrange a meeting with Arlene Foster and raise this issue when she visits Scotland later this month.
"I hope Nicola Sturgeon will consider addressing the barriers that women face when boarding ferries in Belfast in accessing services here in Scotland.
"I support the introduction of a travel bursary for as long as Northern Irish women are denied their basic human rights."
Women from Northern Ireland have been able to access free abortion services in Scotland since last November.
Ms Dugdale’s call comes after the Republic of Ireland overwhelmingly voted to overturn its abortion ban last month.
Ms Sturgeon said the Scottish Government would continue to look at how to make services in Scotland "easier" to access for Northern Irish women, saying the current laws there are "deeply unfair and unjust to women".
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon told to sack Health Secretary Shona Robison over '£400m broken promise'
She said: "I am absolutely in support of ensuring that all women have access to safe abortion services, and that includes women from Northern Ireland."
The First Minister confirmed she does not plan to meet Arlene Foster during the DUP leader's visit to Scotland later this month.
Ms Foster will speak at one of Scotland's largest Orange Order parades in Cowdenbeath, Fife, on June 30 and is expected to stress there is "no place for sectarianism" during the speech at the Boyne celebration march.
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