Published Monday, 29 June 2009
Lawyers for a pro-life group also said it was a "stunning omission" to leave out figures on suicide rates among women who terminate a pregnancy.
The claims were made as the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) launched a challenge on monday against advice issued to health professionals.
The guidance was published in March - five years after the Court of Appeal ruled that the Department of Health should inquire into the provision of termination services.
Abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland, except in circumstances where the mother's life or mental well being are considered at risk.
But SPUC is seeking a declaration that what has been produced does not properly set out the law.
James Dingemans QC, for the Society, opened its application for leave to seek a judicial review by setting out key areas of complaint.
He said: "The guidance contains legal inaccuracies, secondly it critically fails to provide proper legal guidance on the issue of consent, and thirdly, it fails to deal with the rights of the unborn child."
The court heard how the risk of suicide was higher among women who abort their pregnancies.
"If the Department is to produce guidance and it's to be useful we submit that in circumstances where one of the grounds termination may be lawful is to preserve the long-term mental health of the mother, not to include these statistics is a stunning omission," Mr Dingemans said.
"What is the point of issuing guidance that ignores what might be considered by those independent of either side of the debate... the striking statistics referred to in the grounding affidavit."
Irrational
The barrister also claimed it was irrational for the advice not to go into the rights of the unborn child.
He asked what midwives were to do when a still-breathing baby is aborted, with their duties to preserve life.
As part of his submissions Mr Dingemans also argued the guidance was inadequate for conscientious objectors to termination who work within the medical profession.
He claimed the advice generally "failed to make it absolutely clear that abortion is illegal in Nothern Ireland except in very clearly defined circumstances".
Nicolas Hanna QC, for the Department, countered by saying the Society had failed to pass the threshold on any of its points.
He pointed out that the guidance had been issued for the provision of health services to women seeking terminations in the very limited circumstances where it was legal.
Mr Hanna said: "The assertion or allegation that the Department has failed to acknowledged the presumptive illegality of abortion in Northern Ireland, that ground is totally misconceived.
"This guidance is addressed to Trusts and members of the health care profession. It's not addressed to the general public or women seeking abortion.
"It's addressed to professions, not a lay audience."
The barrister added that in the document's opening paragraphs it makes clear that terminating a pregnancy in Northern Ireland is limited to preserving the woman's life.
"To suggest this is out the other way round is completely unfounded," he said.
"The tenor of the applicant's argument is that the Department was somehow giving the impression by the way this document is drawn up that abortion is somehow lawful. That is not the case."
After hearing both sides in the case Mr Justice Weatherup reserved judgment in the application