March for abortion rights!
Posted on December 15, 2006
Filed Under Sofie's Blog
The last few months haven’t been the best for abortion rights campaigners; since September we’ve seen the garnering of MPs’ signatures on an anti-choice Early Day Motion (including many supposed left-wingers, like Respect party MP George Galloway and David Taylor, a member of the Socialist Campaign Group) and a Tory Ten-Minute Rule Bill which would have seen a severe restriction on abortion time limits plus compulsory “counselling” (because women clearly can’t make up their own minds, poor things), not to mention the international situation which, with the complete banning of all abortion in Nicaragua and a wave of legislative attacks including a proposed ban in Poland, is looking increasingly grim.
Anyone who’s been on the Tube or at a train station recently can probably attest to the fact that anti-choice sentiment in Britain isn’t restricted to Parliament; “charities” such as Life are posting increasingly bold adverts, posing as pregnancy counselling services (someone really really needs to start a campaign of sticking BPAS and Abortion Rights stickers over those anti-choice ads which say “Pregnant? Call us for advice”… just a suggestion of course…).
In the face of these attacks, and in the light of the recent NUS Women’s campaign and Abortion Rights lobby of parliament (at which some students were told by their Tory MP that he supports a women’s right to choose.. to choose not to have sex. I’ve forgotten who it was, but if anyone could email his name, I’d be happy to name and shame him. Pictures from the dayhere) which asked MPs not to support anti-choice measures if they were selected high up on the ballot for Private Member’s Bills, it’s time we stopped just asking MPs not to make things worse and started demanding the government give us real abortion rights. It’s been 40 years since the Abortion Act gave us the right to choose if two doctors say it’s ok (involving, often, casting doubt on our own mental health to secure an abortion); let’s get on the attack instead of constantly having to defend our limited rights from anti-choice idiots!
With this in mind, Feminist Fightback, the feminist activist conference organised by ENS Women, called for a national abortion rights march for the evening of Saturday 3 March 2007. We will be marching for;
- The right to abortion on demand (this means an end to having to get the consent of 2 doctors) up to the legal times limit.
- The extension of abortion rights to women in Northern Ireland.
- Abortion to be integrated into the NHS as an ordinary medical service.
- An end to privatisation and fragmentation in the NHS; increased public funding to guarantee free and equal access abortion.
- Improved access to and increased choice of publicly funded contraception.
- Clear, honest, comprehensive and confidential sexuality and relationship education for all children which addresses issues of consent and domestic violence.
- A real ‘right to choose’ which also means the right to have a child free from economic and social pressure. This requires a real living wage for all workers, benefits which can be lived on and rise with earnings, universal publicly funded childcare and an end to the stigmatisation of single mothers.
An organising committee has been set up, and will meet for the second time early in the New Year. To get involved or for more information please email me at sofie.buckland@nus.org.uk.
Please publicise the march through your campaigning groups, union branches and student unions - a model motion can be found here.
