The first private clinic providing abortion on the island of Ireland opened at lunchtime today in Belfast.About 200 people are protesting today outside the high-rise building on Great Victoria Street where the Marie Stopes International clinic is based.
A spokeswoman for Marie Stopes said that the clinic which provides abortion up to nine weeks' gestation and other sexual and reproductive services has a number of appointments for today.
The clinic whose Belfast director is former Progressive Unionist Party leader Dawn Purvis is to open two days a week, on Thursdays and Saturdays. It officially opened at 1 pm today.
The organisation's UK and Europe director Tracey McNeill repeated today that the clinic will observe the law on abortion in Northern Ireland. Abortion is only permitted in the North where the life of the mother is under threat or where there are serious mental and physical health risks to the woman.
Ms Purvis said Marie Stopes was delighted to see the clinic opened and looked "forward to welcoming people into our world class sexual and reproductive health centre this afternoon".
"For the first time, the people of Northern Ireland can visit a single health centre for information, advice and help with contraception, HIV and sexually transmitted infections and - when the legal requirements are met - early medical abortion," she added.
"Anyone coming to us can be assured that we fully respect their privacy and our dedicated healthcare team will provide them with confidential, sensitive and non-judgemental care," she said.
Ms Purvis said the of level of support for the clinic was "truly inspiring".
"Some groups are protesting and, whilst we respect their right to do so, we hope they too will respect an individual's sexual and reproductive health rights, and a woman's right to choose," she said.
Anti-abortion protesters began arriving outside the building where the clinic is located from this morning. There was an initial group of about 50 from organisations such as Precious Life and UK Life which grew to about 200 by noon.
Some carried placards with statements such as "Keep Ireland Abortion Free", "Abortion - We Can Live Without It" and "Ulster Says No to Abortion".
Some also carried posters with pictures of aborted foetuses. Prayers were also said and hymns sung.
Bernadette Smyth, head of Precious Life, accused Marie Stopes of having an agenda to "break the law to change the law" so that the British 1967 Abortion Act could be introduced to Northern Ireland. "Marie Stopes is not welcome here, we want to close Marie Stopes," she said.
Ms Smyth added that there was great opposition to abortion in Northern Ireland, including at political level, and there was still a possibility that legal action could be taken to seek the closure of the clinic.
The Assembly's justice committee is this afternoon discussing the opening of the clinic.