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People are stepping up the pressure on Northern Ireland to legalise abortion

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Getty Images / Charles McQuillan / Stringer

People are stepping up the pressure on Northern Ireland to legalise abortion, after a landslide vote to legalise the practice in the Republic of Ireland.

One week on from the landmark legislation that has decriminalised abortion in the Republic of Ireland, campaigners in Northern Ireland, where the practice is still illegal, are calling for equality.

Despite this, the leader of the DUP Arlene Foster maintains that only the devolved Northern Irish government can make the changes.

She outlined her position in an interview with Sky News on Saturday:

MPs are being canvassed to back a plan to force through the liberalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland, The Guardian reported on Saturday.

A cross party coalition is being drawn up that would force Theresa May into taking action, something that she has dodged doing so far claiming it's a 'devolved matter' - perhaps because of the fact she depends on the DUP for a majority government.

MP Sarah Woolaston took to Twitter to announce her support for the movement:

Sinn Feinn have outlined their position, too:

Labour MP Stella Creasy also talked about the issue this morning on The Andrew Marr Show, where she argued that the laws must be repealed in Northern Ireland, too.

Many people tweeted their support for Creasy's argument.

Others realised that sometimes statistics speak louder than mere words.

And others were quick to point out what they perceived as a hypocritical standpoint from Arlene Foster.

Earlier this week, abortion rights activists also staged a stunt in Northern Ireland to highlight the extreme lengths women have to go to in order to get an abortion in Northern Ireland.

The protestors appear to have taken abortion pills in front of police by bringing the pills over the border using a Wall-E like robot that was controlled in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

Writing on their Facebook page, the protestors explained why they'd organised the event.

The abortion robot will mark the different legal reality for Northern Irish women, who still have to rely on new technology, like telemedicine, drones and robots that use international legal loopholes to protect their rights.

Police then confiscated the two robots, and questioned one of the women who had taken the termination pill.

More: Abortions don't lead to an increased risk of suicidal thoughts, study finds

More: The 17 best reactions to Ireland overturning its abortion ban

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