Newly published regulations on abortion services in Northern Ireland will come into force on Tuesday.
MPs in Westminster passed the changes to abortion last year in the absence of a power sharing assembly at Stormont.
The new regulations will allow terminations in Northern Ireland on request for the first 12 weeks of pregnancy and up to 24 weeks in cases of a risk of injury to the physical or mental health of the pregnant woman or girl.
Terminations will also be allowed to take place in cases of severe and fatal foetal anomalies, with no gestational limit.
However, medical professionals who do not wish to participate in carrying out a termination will not be obliged to do so.
It is understood that while services will remain unavailable immediately due to the Covid-19 crisis, women and girls who require a termination can still avail of services in England.
However, a Department of Health spokesperson said due to the current impact on travel it would required that position to be "reconsidered".
Last week, First Minister Arlene Foster said it was a "sad day" for Northern Ireland, adding that the decision should have been made at Stormont.
Sinn Fein 's Michelle O'Neill and deputy First Minister for Northern Ireland said she was "glad to see progress" but that the legislation was "out of date".
Alliance for Choice, a leading campaign group for abortion rights in Northern Ireland, said while they "welcomed" the new laws, it fell "significantly short" for woman during Covid-19.
Naomi Connor, a spokesperson for the organisation, said: “We should not place women and pregnant people at risk of unsafe abortion when there is a scientific, safe and readily available alternative.
"We have heard directly that barriers and lack of access to abortion pills has led many to use dangerous alternatives.
"This is not a reality we wish to revisit when there is a body of scientific research that supports abortion telemedicine provision.”
Marion Woods, Service advocate for Both Lives Matter said the law had been "imposed" on people in Northern Ireland.
She said: "In the shadow of a struggling health service and quite literally in the wake of loss of life due to a global pandemic, there is something incredibly distasteful in legislating for the ‘right’ to end a human life.
"Added to this is the tragedy that for the first time ever in NI, preborn babies diagnosed with a "serious disability" will face discrimination with abortion available right up to birth.”
