Pro-life activists in Northern Ireland scored a victory which yielded mixed results in the High Court today after a bid to have clear guidelines under which abortions can be performed was dismissed.
Mr Justice Kerr rejected an attempt by the Family Planning Association (FPA) to force the health service to publish guidelines for doctors stating when abortions are legal.
He said: "None of the grounds in which the judicial review has been sought has been made out. The application must be dismissed."
However, despite accepting the Department of Health was under no obligation to publish guidelines he suggested it would be beneficial to do so.
As the FPA considered launching an appeal against the ruling, director Ms Audrey Simpson insisted there were positive aspects to the outcome.
She said: "The judge made it clear that it would be prudent for the department to issue guidelines and he also pointed out that abortion is legal in Northern Ireland under certain circumstances.
"Those who suggest it's not should not be under that illusion any longer."
Under current laws women can only have a termination in the North if their life is at risk or if there is a serious threat to their mental or physical health by continuing the pregnancy.
But, as he delivered his ruling, Mr Justice Kerr pointed out that only four out of 8,000 women who travelled from Northern Ireland to England and Wales between 1993 and 1997 could lawfully have had the operation in the North.
This helped to show there was no confusion about the circumstances, he told the court.
Mr Liam Gibson, from the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child - which intervened in the judicial review - praised the judgment and insisted the law was already clear.
He said: "Guidelines were not required and what the FPA were really looking for was a change in the law in Northern Ireland against the will of the people and politicians."
PA