In law, abortion policy is devolved in Scotland and Northern Ireland but not in Wales. The law in Northern Ireland was changed on 21 October 2019 to allow abortion, hitherto banned, under the provisions of the UK Parliament's Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019, as the Northern Ireland Assembly was not operating at the time. The legalisation of the provision of abortion services came into force on 31 March 2020, and beforehand, Northern Irish women could access abortion services in other parts of the UK without a fee and without committing a criminal offence.