And the leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland, Clare Bailey, has welcomed the new regulations, saying that "access to abortion is a positive move."
First Minister Arlene Foster, who is also leader of the DUP, said earlier this month that "I don't believe abortion on demand should be available in Northern Ireland," calling it "a very retrograde step for our society."
"Instead of supporting people who find themselves in crisis pregnancies, we're not even having any discussion around that and how we can support people in those circumstances, how we can provide perinatal care," she added.
In contrast, Michelle O'Neill, deputy First Minister and vice president of Sinn Féin, urged that women in Northern Ireland be allowed to perform medical abortions at home.
At-home medical abortions were discussed by the region's executive April 6, which reportedly led to a row between the DUP and Sinn Féin.
The pro-life group the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children have placed billboards in the region that urge the repeal of the regulations, and note that "Abortion kills babies".
The poster campaign is set to expand after the Advertising Standards Authority, a regulator, rejected complaints about the billboards.
The ASA affirmed that the advertisements comply with freedem of speech defenses in the Human Rights Act 1998.
Liam Gibson, SPUC's Northern Ireland Political Officer, said that "We intend to extend the initiative and continue to build support for the restoration of the right to life of all unborn children."
Previously, abortion was legally permitted in the region only if the mother's life was at risk or if there was risk of long term or permanent, serious damage to her mental or physical health.
Northern Irish women had been able to procure free National Health Service abortions in England, Scotland, and Wales since November 2017. They are allowed to travel to the rest of the UK to procure abortions during the coronavirus outbreak.
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Though in England, Wales, and Scotland, two medical professionals must certify in all cases that there were lawful grounds for abortion, in Northern Ireland under the new regulations only one medical professional is needed for certification in elective abortions or in cases of immediate necessity where there is a risk to the life of the mother.
The lower threshold in Northern Ireland was adopted at least in part because "it is likely that there will be a more significant number of people raising conscientious objections than in other parts of the UK."
Consientious objection is allowed for direct participation in abortion, but not for ancillary, administrative, or managerial tasks associated with the procedure, because that "would have consequences on a practical level and would therefore undermine the effective provision of abortion services in Northern Ireland."
Buffer zones have not been set up around locations where abortions are procured, barring protest in the locations' immediate vicinity. The government has decided to wait and see what the situation will be, keeping the matter under review so it can "respond to any challenges as needed at the time."
Northern Ireland rejected the Abortion Act 1967, which legalized abortion in England, Wales, and Scotland; and bills to legalize abortion in cases of fatal fetal abnormality, rape, or incest failed in the Northern Ireland Assembly in 2016.
John Hayes, the Conservative MP for South Holland and The Deepings, said ahead of the regulations' introduction that the process was "overriding devolution."