Image Source: Envato
Belfast City Council has voted once again to illuminate City Hall in support of abortion, just weeks after a successful DUP intervention prevented the landmark from being lit green for International Safe Abortion Day.
At a council meeting on 2 November, councillors voted by 36 to 14 in favour of illuminating City Hall on 28 March 2027, coinciding with the Global Day of Action to De-stigmatise Abortion and Easter Sunday. The proposal was supported by Sinn Féin, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and People Before Profit, while the DUP and UUP opposed it.
The decision follows a controversy in September, when plans to illuminate City Hall green for International Safe Abortion Day were halted following a formal challenge from DUP councillors.
The original proposal, brought forward by Alliance following a request from the National Women’s Council of Ireland, attracted considerable opposition from pro-life campaigners, including a petition signed by more than 20,000 people and a protest attended by former Hungarian prime minister, Viktor Orbán.
DUP alderman Dean McCullough successfully invoked the council’s “call-in” procedure, which allows councillors to challenge decisions on procedural grounds or because of their potential disproportionate impact upon sections of the community.
The challenge was subsequently found to have merit on procedural grounds because the council had failed to conduct the necessary equality screening before approving the illumination.
However, the September postponement did not prevent councillors from pursuing another date.
Green Party councillor Anthony Flynn, who introduced the latest proposal, argued that City Hall should be used to promote awareness of abortion access.
“One of the most important aspects of this civic building is to spread awareness of people’s rights,” Flynn said, adding that councillors should ensure women know how to access abortion services.
McCullough condemned the renewed proposal, particularly its timing during Holy Week.
“It was an insensitive proposal initially, so to then request another on what is arguably the holiest week in the Christian calendar makes it even more insensitive, if that is possible,” he said.
“For many, turning City Hall into effectively an abortion billboard was simply a step too far.”
Following September’s postponement, SPUC Executive Director Michael Robinson welcomed the DUP’s intervention, describing the proposed illumination as a “vile pro-death fanfare.”
“We want the women of the city to know there is a better option: choosing life,” Robinson said.
Precious Life, which helped organise opposition to the original illumination, has also argued that City Hall should represent everyone in Belfast rather than promote one side of a divisive moral issue.
Commenting on the recent escalation of the issue, Michael Robinson has continued: “The vile pro-death fanfare is back, and somehow worse than before. On the day the nation celebrates the defeat of death, Belfast City Hall will be used to celebrate the proliferation of death. As before, SPUC is determined to stop this display and will do everything in our power to make sure the day we celebrate the Way, Truth, and, most importantly, Life will remain unadulterated.”
