BEYOND THE HEADLINES (THREE FAMILIES)

It is a measure of how much Northern Ireland has changed that the BBC aired a two-part drama this week about abortion.

Ten years ago it would have been hard to imagine any broadcaster willing to wade into the often bitter debate in the region over the termination of pregnancies.

Yet here was writer Gwyneth Hughes' drama not only tackling the subject head on but taking one particular side.

Up until October 2019, it was illegal for most woman or young girls to get an abortion in Northern Ireland. 

David Steel's1967 Abortion Act did not extend to Northern Ireland unlike other parts of the UK, except in circumstances where the life of the mother was in danger or there was a serious risk to her mental health.

However as Hughes and director Alex Kalymnios' two episode miniseries showed, the bar for satisfying these exceptions in Northern Ireland was set extremely high.

In a society where religious belief and social conservatism was the norm for decades, women or girls seeking a termination tended to go instead to clinics across the Irish Sea in Liverpool or Manchester.

That is until a combination of social changes - the legalisation in 2018 over the border in the Republic of Ireland of abortion upbto the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and for fatal foetal abnormalities - legal challenges and the collapse of Northern Ireland's power sharing government combined to enable Westminster MPs to decriminalise abortion instead.

Hughes' drama charts the stories of three families in Northern Ireland who butt up against the law outlawing abortion in most circumstances until it is eventually amended in 2019.

Sinead Keenan's Belfast hairdresser Theresa Ryan finds herself in court after she procures pills over the Internet for her pregnant 15 year old daughter, Lola Petticrew's Orla Healy.

At first, Orla swears her mum to secrecy over her pregnancy - keeping it from her stepdad, Owen McDonnell's Mark Ryan and her maternal grandmother, Ger Ryan's Kathleen Nolan.

However when the boy responsible for her pregnancy reacts violently, she wants an abortion and Theresa orders the pills online.

After some bleeding, Orla and Theresa visit their GP.

When Orla is summoned into the headmistress's office at the Catholic grammar school she attends, the police get involved.

Theresa is also questioned and soon finds herself being prosecuted under the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 for procuring an illegal abortion.

In another strand of the narrative, Amy James-Kelly's Hannah Kennedy and her marathon mad husband, Colin Morgan's Jonathan are a young Co Antrim couple who have their heart set on having children.

There is much excitement when Hannah discovers she is pregnant but that joy is quickly dashed when a doctor reveals their baby, a girl will be born with a form of dwarfism and will not survive long after birth.

Initially informed they could opt for a termination, they are subsequently and bluntly told by another doctor that cannot happen and they are forced to go through the traumatic birth of their baby.

While Hannah and Jonathan go on to have otger children, they are nevertheless appalled by the fact that pregnant women with fatal foetal abnormalities are expected to see their pregnancies through.

Hannah joins abortion rights campaigners and becomes a voice for abortion in the case of fatal foetal abnormalities.

With the support of the Human Rights Commission in Northern Ireland, she goes to court to have the law overturned and lobbies politicians.

During the course of her campaignjbg, she comes across Genevieve O'Reilly's Rosie, a woman in her forties who should qualify for termination after learning her child will die before birth.

Rosie, however, is refused despite it clearly impacting on her mental health.

As these storylines play out, Hughes weaves snippets of radio or television news reporting of significant milestones in the campaign to decriminalise abortion in Northern Ireland.

In the cases of Theresa and Hannah, their stories are central to those historic developments and are based on actual, high profile legal battles that triggered debate on Northern Ireland's stance on abortion in 2013 and 2018.

Going beyond the headlines of the Sarah Ewart fatal foetal abnormalities case and the prosecution of an anonymous mother who acquired abortion pills for her daughter, Hughes humanises their plight.

There are undeniable moments of power in the drama, particularly as the full horror of Hannah and Rosie having to give birth to children that will die sinks in.

The strain on Theresa and her family as her prosecution gathers momentum is also convincingly handled.

However Hughes has to walk a fine line between didacticism and heavy handed polemic and it doesn't always work.

Sometmes the exposition is clunky and too stiff, most notably when Hughes' drama is depicting protests outside family planning clinics, the Royal Courts of Justice and Stormont or is awkwardly recreating news reports.

While she is comfortable with the women campaigning for abortion and willing to explore their discomfort, her portrayal of those on the other side of the debate is less nuanced.

Kerri Quinn does her best to depict Theresa's anti-abortion campaigning, hairdressing colleague Louise Byrne but the part she has been handed is one note.

Sinead Keenan, however, is excellent as Theresa struggles with the decision that has led to her winding up in court.

She is ably supported by O'Donnell, Ryan and particularly Petticrew, who is building up quite a career for herself with a very savvy choice of film and television roles.

Amy James-Kelly brings a lot of heart to the role of Hannah and works well with Morgan and Dearbhla Molloy who plays a devil may care feminist campaigner Eileen O'Donnell.

O'Reilly is also effective as the very fragile Rosie and is convincingly supported by Prasanna Puwanarajah as her husband, David Fortress who regrets bringing her back to Northern Ireland after living in Birmingham.

The most impressive element of 'Three Families,' though, is Alex Kalymnios' direction which is more confident, eye catching and dynamic than most television dramas.

Kalymnios deploys Steadicam and drone shots to impressive effect and is hugely assisted by Urszula Pontikos' vibrant cinematography, some striking production design and some well chosen locations.

The director's panache almost masks the flaws in Hughes' intense but never dull script.

Despite of its flaws, 'Three Families' is nevertheless an important gear shift for television drama in Northern Ireland - showing ambition, bravery and a lot of heart as it tackles a very difficult and controversial issue.

Audiences in other parts of the UK may view it as further evidence that Northern Ireland really is a place apart.

However a large section of the audience in Northern Ireland will appreciate Hughes diving beyond the headlines to focus on the human toll of being on the wrong side of the law on abortion.

It is good to see broadcasters tackling a Northern Ireland drama that has no interest in paramilitaries or the conflict.

It is even more valuable seeing them exploring an equally controversial topic and humanising it beyond the impassioned rhetoric of talk radio shows.

('Three Families' was broadcast on BBC1 on May 10 and 11, 2021)

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