March
‘Tampon tax’ grant awarded to anti-abortion group
This weekend, it emerged that the government has awarded the anti-abortion organisation Life a grant of £250,000 from the so-called Tampon Tax Fund – a fund which was supposedly ring-fenced for charities that work to improve the lives of vulnerable women and girls. Life, who received one of the largest grants from the fund, is a group that actively campaigns to end women’s access to legal abortion, whose unregulated counselling services have been found to be misinforming women, and which has described abortion in cases of rape as a “death sentence”. You can email the government to ask that they review the grant here: it takes just one minute.
MPs vote to decriminalise abortion
On 13th March, the first bill in 50 years to improve our abortion law was passed in the House of Commons. Labour MP Diana Johnson tabled the Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill, which proposed the decriminalisation of abortion in England and Wales up to 24 weeks.
The law must be overhauled if we are to protect women from harsh criminal penalties and achieve a standard of abortion care fit for women in the twenty first century – as evidenced by this recent study from the University of Kent. By voting in favour of the bill, MPs in Westminster sent a strong message that they agree.
The bill in its current form cannot progress because the present parliamentary session is coming to an end. However, we will continue to champion the case for progressive abortion law reform in the next session.
52% of men in USA don’t think they have benefited from contraception – 100% of women shake their heads
According to a recent survey conducted in the USA, 52 percent of men said that they have not benefited from women having affordable birth control. This is quite frankly baffling. As the brilliant Rebecca Reid argued in her take down of the results, contraception has played a key role in the progress we have made towards gender equality, enabling women to remain in the workforce and in education if they so choose – contraception is “in short, a miracle.” It is astonishing that so many men do not recognise that.
Police crackdown on abortion pills in Northern Ireland
On International Women’s Day, police in Northern Ireland carried out a series of raids in search for illegal abortion pills. According to the Independent, the raids took place at activists’ homes and workplaces while they were attending a pro-choice rally. The police crackdown on abortion pills – which have been deemed safe by the World Health Organization but are still illegal in Northern Ireland – is deeply troubling. Bpas, alongside a coalition of other charities, has been granted permission to intervene in the ongoing prosecution of a mother who bought abortion pills for her young daughter. We will of course keep you updated on the outcome of this case.
Champion of Choice in the news
Diane Munday, a life-long campaigner for abortion rights, has given a powerful interview to the Independent about the horrific reality of having an illegal abortion in the 1960s. You can read her story here.
Champion of Choice nomination
This month we nominate Diana Johnson, Labour MP for Hull North, for her Reproductive Health (Access to Terminations) Bill to decriminalise abortion. You can watch her incredible House of Commons speech here, and read her piece explaining why she proposed this bill here
February
Bill to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales on Monday 13th March
Next week on 13th March, MPs will vote on a bill that would decriminalise abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy in England and Wales. Under a law passed in 1861 – before women could vote – any woman in the UK can face life imprisonment for ending a pregnancy without legal authorisation, including women who buy abortion pills online, many of whom are unaware they are committing a crime.
We trust women to make their own decisions about their own pregnancies. Ask your MP to do the same and protect women by supporting the bill. You can email your MP here. It takes just one minute.
Non-invasive prenatal testing concerns
We were extremely disappointed to read the Nuffield Council on Bioethics’ recent report on non-invasive prenatal testing (NIPT), and in particular by the mistrust of women that seemed to permeate. NIPT offers women more accurate screening than other methods, often earlier in the pregnancy, and – crucially – without the risk of miscarriage. Nuffield’s suggestion that NIPT could increase the risk of sex-selective abortion is deeply problematic, and we wholeheartedly reject their call to restrict women’s access to their own screening results on the grounds that they may use the information to make the ‘wrong’ decisions about their pregnancies.
Women are capable of making good, ethical reproductive choices, and – as the ones who will bear the consequences – they absolutely must be trusted to do so. Their access to information that enables them to make the choices that are right for them and their families should not be restricted. Read our full statement here.
Support for women with extreme morning sickness
New research has shown that women suffering from Hyperemesis Gravidarum (HG) are being denied effective treatment and compassionate care, leaving some with little choice but to end wanted pregnancies. A survey, conducted by Pregnancy Sickness Support (PSS) alongside researchers at Plymouth University, has revealed that women are not receiving proper information about the availability of safe and effective treatment for HG, including being misled about the dangers. Just 34% of the women interviewed felt they were given sufficient information to make an informed decision about their medication and treatment.
Bpas and PSS are calling for greater investment in day units, where women with HG can receive accurate information and specialist care from trained staff, avoiding expensive hospital stays.
Sex and Relationships Education to be taught by all England’s schools
The Education Secretary Justine Greening has announced that, from September 2019, it will be compulsory for all England’s schools to offer Sex and Relationships Education (SRE). Outdated SRE guidelines will also be improved, particularly to teach students about staying safe online. We were delighted to read the announcement, which follows months of campaigning by MPs and charities alike (including a Valentine’s Day open letter from End Violence Against Women Coalition). All young people deserve access to comprehensive SRE, which helps them to have happy, healthy relationships and improves sexual health outcomes.
Champions of Choice in the news
This month Diane Munday, former general secretary of the Abortion Law Reform Association, wrote to the Daily Mail about abortion rights and was awarded Letter of the Week. Here is her letter in full:
“Thank you for making it very clear to women who try to end their own pregnancies (even by buying safe, readily available pills) that they risk going to prison for life. This isn’t something many people know about.
“As someone who, half a century ago, campaigned for legal abortion, I knew then that the passing of the Abortion Act 1967 did much less than needed. It only made exemptions to the Victorian law still in force which makes criminals of women who attempt to end their own pregnancies.
“To me (now a very old woman), it’s almost unbelievable that in 2017 women must get the written consent of two doctors before an intolerable pregnancy can be legally ended.
“On March 13, Parliament will discuss a Bill that seeks to decriminalise abortion. It could start the ball rolling to give British women the same rights that have been available in places such as Canada for 30 years, with no ill-effects.
“If only one in ten of the women who have had a legal abortion (thought to be about one in three) was to join me in writing to her MP saying “support the bill to decriminalise abortion”, it would be difficult for Parliament to ignore us any longer.”
January
Northern Ireland abortions at record low as prosecution rates rise
New figures published by the Department of Health show that the number of abortions in Northern Ireland has fallen by more than half during a five-year period, now standing at a record low of just 16 abortions in 2015/16. This drop has coincided with a dramatic increase in the number of abortion-related prosecutions: three women have been taken through the courts in the last twelve months, and just last week a judicial review was granted to a mother who bought her young daughter abortion medication and now faces criminal prosecution. Public awareness of such cases has two effects: women are deterred from seeking medical help after taking abortion pills, endangering their health, and doctors feel unable to sanction terminations for fear of facing harsh criminal penalties. The result? Northern Irish women in need of abortion care have no choice but to travel to England, at huge financial and personal cost.
Sex and Relationships Education ‘fatally neglected’
A new report published by the British Humanist Association has found that sex and relationships education is being ‘fatally neglected’ by Ofsted inspectors. The report “Healthy, Happy, Safe?” analysed over 2,000 Ofsted reports and found that, shockingly, consent was mentioned only twice and pornography just once. The findings come amid a fierce debate amongst MPs on whether SRE should be made compulsory in schools. We are deeply concerned by the widespread neglect in our schools of SRE, which contributes to improved sexual and reproductive health outcomes and enables young people to enjoy healthier, happier relationships.
Protection for women entering abortion clinics
Protesters are continuing to harass and intimidate women outside abortion clinics as they try to access services. Anti-abortion activism targeted at clinics has increased in Britain in recent years, mainly driven by American-linked groups. Those adversely affected include female NHS patients, their partners, families and friends, clinic staff and local residents. This month the Labour MP for Ealing Rupa Huq took action alongside pro-choice organisation Sister Supporter, raising concerns in the House of Commons. Dr Huq said, “It is totally unacceptable that vulnerable women have to run the gauntlet to receive the help of which they are entitled.” Hear hear. You can join our “Back Off” campaign calling for buffer zones to be introduced outside clinics here.
Women’s March in London
This month, Women’s Marches took place in cities around the world in opposition to Donald Trump’s inauguration. In London it’s estimated that 100,000 protesters took to the streets on 21st January – the first full day of Trump’s presidency – citing a range of issues including his misogynistic comments and his stance on abortion, and holding banners that read, “Girls just wanna have fundamental rights”, “Women won’t be trumped” and “Burn bras not bridges”. We were delighted to join them and we welcome the widespread condemnation of Trump’s view that there must be ‘some sort of punishment’ for abortions. However, it should be remembered that here in the UK, not all women can access abortion care without ‘punishment’ – as women in Northern Ireland know only too well.
Trump’s attack on abortion rights
We were dismayed to read that, two days after the Women’s Marches, Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the Reagan-era “global gag rule”, which banned family planning providers from ‘performing or actively promoting abortion’ if they received US aid money. Catastrophically, Trump has also extended the rule to apply to all global health organisations – any of which could now lose US funding if they even mention abortion. The global ramifications of this extreme decision will be enormous, endangering millions of lives and, by some estimates, leading to the deaths of thousands of women. It must be reversed.
Champion of Choice nomination
This month we nominate Labour MP for Walthamstow Stella Creasy, who has called on the government to change its guidelines on sex & relationships education in our schools. Creasy led an all-female group of MPs proposing an amendment to the Children and Social Work Bill, which would have made SRE compulsory. Sadly the amendment was rejected, but Creasy has vowed to keep fighting, calling on Conservative MPs to work together with Labour on this important issue.
November
Access to emergency contraception
Emergency contraception is five times more expensive to buy in the UK than it is in France. Introduced fifteen years ago, the progestogen-only contraceptive pill is extremely safe and available in many countries straight off the shelf for prices as low as €7 (£6). In the UK, however, the same pill can cost up to £30. This high price is largely a result of the mandatory consultation with a pharmacist that women must endure before being granted access to emergency contraception (EC). Not only does this consultation drive up the price, but it is also patronising, off-putting and clinically unnecessary. It has prevented men from accessing the pill on behalf of their partners and, as the Guardian notes, there is a danger of pharmacists using “moral, rather than medical, judgement”. bpas is urging that EC is reclassified as a General Sales List drug, so that it can be available straight from the shelf, without a consultation, and at an affordable price. This month we launched the #JustSayNon campaign to highlight the shockingly high cost of EC and to call on women to reject this sexist surcharge. Watch our campaign video and click here to sign up, spread the message and Just Say Non!
Legal challenge: funding abortions for Northern Irish women
A Northern Irish woman who had to pay £900 for an abortion in England has taken her legal challenge to the Supreme Court. The woman, whose case is supported by a coalition of five reproductive rights organisations including bpas, challenged the Secretary of State for Health’s decision that the NHS should not fund abortions for Northern Irish women. Northern Ireland’s extreme abortion laws stipulate that abortion is illegal in all cases unless there is a direct threat to the mother’s life (despite public opinion to the contrary). Northern Irish women who need a termination must therefore travel to England, Scotland or Wales and pay privately for their treatment – a cost that can be up to £2000. We at bpas believe this is profoundly unjust, not least because Northern Irish women pay the same taxes as those in the rest of the UK and therefore should have access to the same healthcare services. This is a hefty financial barrier with grave implications, forcing many women to delay their abortions or even resort to unsupervised home abortions, which carry a harsh criminal penalty. As such we view the NHS restriction as a direct contravention of international human rights law. The Supreme Court is yet to hand down its decision.
USA abortion rights under threat
In the wake of Donald Trump’s election, abortion rights are under threat in the state of Ohio. The state legislature has passed a bill banning abortions from as early as six weeks into a pregnancy, at which stage many women do not even know they are pregnant. According to the bill, a doctor who terminates a pregnancy when a heartbeat is detectable – or without listening for a heartbeat – can be imprisoned for up to a year. Ohio politicians cited Trump’s election victory as their motivation to push through the bill. Pro-choice men and women in Ohio are protesting. Since being elected, Donald Trump has stayed firm on his intention to appoint pro-life justices to the Supreme Court, who could overturn Roe v. Wade, revoking women’s constitutional right to abortions in the USA. He has also appointed a Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Tom Price, who supports the defunding of Planned Parenthood. We stand alongside the women in Ohio, and across the United States, who are being forced to defend their rights to legal abortion access and reproductive choice.
New statistics on motherhood
New figures published by the Office of National Statistics suggest that women are opting to have fewer children. The proportion of women who reach the end of their childbearing years with only one child has increased to 18%, which, for the first time in decades, is higher than the proportion of women who have three children (17%). Two-child families remain the most common (37%). The figures also show that the number of teenage pregnancies continues to decline, whilst the proportion of 35-year-old women who bear children has increased (from 30 births per 1000 women in 1978 to 75 births per 1000 women in 2005). This is consistent with the NHS’s most recent report on Hospital Maternity Activity, which notes both that the proportion of caesarean sections increases with age, and that there have been more caesarean deliveries in recent years. At bpas we do not see this as a problem, but rather we respect and support women’s family planning decisions, and trust them to choose both when and how many children to have, depending on what is right for them.
New support for decriminalisation
The Women’s Equality Party has passed a motion at its inaugural party conference to decriminalise abortion, voicing its support for the We Trust Women campaign. In a welcome statement, the party’s leader Sophie Walker has described the limiting of reproductive rights as “a form of violence against women”, calling for abortion to be decriminalised and treated instead as a sexual health and human rights issue. The WEP’s campaign comes in the same month as an announcement that Labour MP Diana Johnson has tabled a 10-minute bill for March 2017 to decriminalise abortion, and amid new calls for the Scottish government to decriminalise terminations now that abortion law has been devolved. Sign up here to join our We Trust Women campaign to decriminalise abortion across the UK.
Champions of Choice in the news
Two of our Champions of Choice, Susan Seenan (chief executive of Infertility Network UK and co-chair of Fertility Fairness) and Sarah Norcross (co-chair of Fertility Fairness), have raised concern following the news that Britain’s fertility services are failing to meet national guidelines, with only two per cent of clinical commissioning groups funding all the fertility treatments recommended by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE). Speaking to the Telegraph, Seenan described this as, “cruel and unethical, and a national disgrace for the country that pioneered IVF”. Norcross added, “The IVF postcode lottery is being exacerbated by CCGs not making evidence-based commissioning decisions and routinely ignoring the guidance from the National Institute of Health and Clinical Excellence”.
bpas chief executive Ann Furedi has written an important piece in the Telegraph to expose the deep flaws in Donald Trump’s pledge to give abortion law “back to the states”. She outlines the dangers that will face women if they do not have access to safe and legal terminations in their own state: “Do not underestimate how great these distances are and how difficult travel can be… Wealthy women with problem pregnancies will get on planes; poor women will have to cope in whatever way they can. Already US researchers report an increased unregulated use of medications obtained online”. You can read her full article here.
Champion of Choice nomination
For this month’s Champion of Choice we nominate First Minister of Scotland Nicola Sturgeon, who has confirmed her intention to hold talks with the Scottish NHS to explore the provision of free abortions in Scotland for Northern Irish women. Sturgeon has consistently defended women’s access to safe and legal abortion care, resisting calls for the 24-week limit to be reduced. Her comments were welcomed by Amnesty International’s Patrick Corrigan who said, “Given the utter human rights failure of Northern Ireland’s Ministers to provide free, safe and legal abortion healthcare for women and girls here, we welcome the commitment of Scotland’s First Minister to explore what can be done via NHS Scotland.” We believe that Sturgeon’s commitment to providing NI women with free abortion care in Scotland makes her a worthy and vital champion of choice. We applaud her intervention and hope that England and Wales might follow her example.
October
Undercover anti-abortion investigation
Channel 4’s Dispatches recently investigated anti-abortion activism outside abortion clinics. The programme showcased the shameful tactics of anti- abortion extremists and the effects these can have on women accessing abortion care. Activists were caught lying to women and deliberately targeting those who had had an abortion and weren’t upset enough. One woman described being physically blocked and grabbed when leaving the clinic. Bpas and a group of leading women’s advocacy and health organisations such as Women’s Aid, Mumsnet and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynecologist (RCOG), placed a letter in the Times, calling on the Home Secretary to act. Please help us keep up the pressure by emailing your MP here.
Public support for decriminalisation in Ireland
When women are unable to access legal abortion care in their own country, that doesn’t stop them needing it. Instead, women in Ireland and Northern Ireland are increasingly looking to the internet for abortion pills. A new study published in the BJOG shows women buying abortion pills online express a strong feeling of gratitude and relief that they were able to end an unwanted pregnancy. Their only regret is that what they are having to do is illegal in their country. It is no surprise then that three in five people in Northern Ireland support decriminalisation, according to a new survey conducted for Amnesty International. This new survey sends a clear message to politicians that the public do not support punishing women who end a pregnancy. Sign up to the campaign to decriminalise abortion across all of the UK here.
Contraceptive concerns
A new Danish study highlights an association between women taking the contraceptive pill and those also being prescribed antidepressants, particularly among young women. The researchers refrained from full frontal scaremongering, to those already on the pill, by suggesting they shouldn’t worry as their results didn’t show the pill directly causing depression. They did however insist their findings were not trivial and women should be fully informed. Most of the viral coverage used trick of statistics to dramatize the findings and present a skewed perspective on the actual risks to women’s health. A sensible Jezebel piece rightly stated the results are not a reason for “all women to ceremoniously dump their pill packets”. Whilst it is extremely important that women are kept informed of the risks and benefits associated with contraceptives, it is vital that these are not overstated and women are left to make choices that are right for them.
Standing up for abortion rights
After proposals to introduce an all right ban on abortions, thousands of women in Poland went on strike in protest against further restrictions to their already restrictive abortion laws. Activists in London also protested outside the Polish embassy and many people around the globe wore black to show their solidarity. While the strike was a success , with Polish MP’s voting against the total ban on abortions, there are now new proposals to outlaw abortions in cases where foetuses are unviable. This has resulted in fresh protests across Warsaw. We stand with the women of Poland and echo their demand that women should be trusted to make decisions about their body and not branded as criminals for doing so.
Hear from our Champions
Diane Munday, a pioneer for the 1967 Abortion Act, wrote a brilliant letter to The Guardian calling on British women to rally together to support an upcoming bill to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales – and as soon as we receive news on the date of this bill we will let you know.
Champion of Choice nomination
We nominate Keir Starmer MP as a champion for choice for his dedication to women accessing legal healthcare free from intimidation an harassment. In Dispatches he acknowledged how anti abortion extremists behaviour is intended and a gross invasion of privacy, calling for buffer zones around abortion clinics.
September
New support for women taking abortion pills
Extreme abortion laws in Ireland, Northern Ireland and Isle of Man mean access to abortion services in these areas is currently highly restricted, forcing many women to travel abroad to access treatment. bpas has launched a free telephone aftercare helpline for women from these areas who cannot travel and who have taken abortion pills bought online. This new helpline will provide reassurance and advise women if they need to seek urgent medical help. While we wait for politicians to do the right thing and provide the care women need at home, we will work to ensure all women can access essential support.
Contraceptive choice
A new NICE quality standard suggests women should be encouraged to use the copper coil as their preferred method of emergency contraception, rather than the morning-after pill. Whilst the coil is more effective, contraceptive choices are not based solely on which method provides the greatest protection against unwanted pregnancy, but what that individual woman feels is right for her. Contraceptive services should be designed around what women want, not what we think is best for them. We believe it would be more helpful to set a national standard enabling all women to access emergency hormonal contraception for free through a local pharmacy – in many areas women have no choice but to pay up to £30 or struggle to get a timely appointment with their GP.
Speaking out about abortion
Although one in three women will have a termination in their lifetime, there still remains an awful lot of stigma surrounding a woman’s decision to have an abortion. The shout your abortion campaign did an excellent job at exposing this, but there is still a long way to go. So we welcome the news that actress Naya Rivera bravely spoke out about her abortion, countering this idea that ending a pregnancy is something to be ashamed of. If you’d like to share your abortion story, in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act, please do send them to us at yourstories@bpas.org. More information can be found here.
The rise of the sensible teenager
An American survey shows teenagers are having less sex, highlighting the disconnect between society’s perception we live in an overly sexualised ‘tinder’ culture and the reality of people’s lives, in which many prefer an evening with The Great British Bake Off. In the UK, teenage pregnancy rates continue to decline, now standing at the lowest level on record, which may be because of reduced sexual activity. Alcohol consumption, often linked with sexual encounters, has also fallen dramatically among younger age groups. Better sexual health and contraceptive service will play a significant role in reducing teenage pregnancy rates, but attention needs to be paid to the growing shift in lifestyle choices made by teenagers.
Support for the Decriminalisation campaign
We are delighted to announce The Green Party voted to adopt decriminalisation as their official party policy at their Autumn Conference last week. It’s brilliant to see the party leading the way and reaffirming their support for a woman’s right to choose. Our chief executive Ann Furedi recently published her book “Making the Moral Case for abortion”, where she makes a compelling case for abortion to be removed from the criminal law. Royalties from the first year of sales will go towards the We Trust Women campaign to decriminalise abortion across the UK. You can get your copy of the book here, or alternatively why not check out the great tea towels and totes in the We Trust Women shop. Again, all proceeds go towards our campaign.
Hear from our Champions
In anticipation of the fiftieth anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act, we interviewed one of the excellent pioneers for the Act Dilys Cossey, to get her perspective on the fight for abortion rights half a century on. In the interview she shares her formative experiences as a young woman when abortion was illegal, and the subsequent impact of the 1967 Act. She also discusses the key to campaigning and the future of the pro-choice movement.
Champion of Choice nomination
We nominate the brilliant Fawcett Society for their continued campaigning for gender equality and women’s rights as this month’s Champion of Choice. If you haven’t done so already, have a look at their Face her Future campaign, aimed at extending and defending women’s rights as we leave the European Union.
July
Once-a-month-pill scuppered by abortion laws
Our antiquated abortion laws are preventing the development of a new once-a-month birth control pill. While current methods of contraception work by preventing the sperm reaching the egg or by preventing a fertilised egg attaching to the lining of the womb, researchers say a once-monthly pill that would work post implantation is more than scientifically possible, but abortion laws which legally define pregnancy as beginning from the moment a fertilised egg implants prevent its development. Another good reason why we need to reform our abortion legislation.
Fertility rate for older women continues to rise
The trend towards older motherhood is here to stay, with recent figures from the Office for National statistics showing that women over 40 are having more babies than those under 20. Rather than scaremongering about fertility ‘falling off a cliff’ at 35, campaigners have called for women’s family planning decisions to be respected and supported. We must provide women with accurate, evidence based information and ensure maternity services are able to deliver the additional care that may be needed for older women.
New guidelines for Pregnancy Sickness
The RCOG has published new and welcome guidelines acknowledging the impact of hyperemesis gravidarum (HG) on pregnant women, urging healthcare professionals to provide necessary treatment. Too often HG can be dismissed, and effective medication is rarely prescribed despite evidence demonstrating it is perfectly safe. Recently there was a moving piece in the Telegraph by a woman who desperately wanted a baby but because of her severe morning sickness didn’t feel unable to continue with her pregnancy – and this is sadly not an isolated case.
Calls from medical professionals for abortion to be decriminalised
Activity to remove abortion from the criminal law continues across the UK. At The Royal College of Nursing Congress there was a call to ditch these strict laws and allow women to take abortion medication at home, and doctors at this year’s BMA Annual Representative meeting also passed a vote for their ethics committee to consider the case for decriminalisation – video of the debate online here (starting at 3 hours 13 minutes.) Meanwhile in Northern Ireland, women are asking to be prosecuted for taking abortion pills and drones carrying abortion pills are being used to highlight the draconian nature of abortion laws. If you’d like to support the campaign to decriminalise abortion across the UK please donate here or check out the We Trust Women shop.
Champion of Choice nomination
We nominate Lord Rooker as our champion of choice this month for his continued fight for the fortification of flour with folic acid, or as he refers to it: “flour power”. His Private Member’s Bill, calling for fortification of flour to reduce neural tube defects, has successfully passed onto committee stage. We wish him the best of luck and thank him for his commitment to sparing women the painful decision of having to end a wanted pregnancy after a diagnosis of neural tube defect.
Share your story
Ahead of the 50 year anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act we are calling on women to share their stories. Since the Act was passed thousands of women have been supported by doctors, nurses and midwives and we would like to honour that contribution by publishing a booklet of letters from women to the medical professionals who supported them. If you would like to write a letter (anonymously if you prefer) please email it to yourstories@bpas.org
March
Prosecutions and launch of campaign to decriminalise abortion
Earlier this month, a young woman in Northern Ireland’s was given a three-month prison sentence suspended for a year for taking abortion medication bought online. A number of MPs subsequently wrote to parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights urging action, pointing out while abortion is a devolved issue, human rights are not – and Westminster has a responsibility to act. The appalling ordeal of this young woman has raised awareness of the fact that abortion remains a criminal offence, and any woman in England, Wales or Scotland or Northern Ireland can face imprisonment for ending her pregnancy. Bpas and a coalition of women’s organisations have launched the We Trust Women campaign to remove abortion from the criminal law across the UK. We held a public meeting in London with a panel of experts exploring the case for decriminalisation, and you can listen again here. If you would like to support the campaign please do email your MP, it is very quick using this template. If you are interested in donating to the campaign, please do so here.
Pregnancy choices
Birthrights, The Centre for Parenting Studies and bpas hosted a one day conference Policing Pregnancy: Maternal Autonomy, Risk and Responsibility on 13th April which explored the many ways women’s behaviour and choices in pregnancy can be scrutinised and restricted. Speakers argued that women deserve evidence-based information which is communicated in a way that contextualises risk and enables women to make their own decisions, based on their own circumstances. The need to listen to women and trust them was highlighted recently when a woman’s request for a caesarean section was refused and tragically her baby died. As Milli Hill commented there sadly remains “a problem with letting women be the ultimate decision makers.” Abstracts from the day are available here.
Teenage pregnancy rates at all time low
Recent figures published by the Office of National Statistics show the rate of teenage pregnancy in England and Wales stands at its lowest level since records began 50 years ago, debunking public perception that we are a nation of “ gymslip mums”. Whilst better access to contraception and sex education will have played a significant role, it’s unlikely that these improvements are the sole factors at play. It has been argued plummeting levels of teenage drinking may be reducing the likelihood of both unprotected sex – and indeed sex in the first place. Experts have linked the increasing time teenagers spend socialising online as opposed to sitting at the bus stop with a bottle of cider with the decrease in rates. The ONS has suggested the changing aspirations of young people and perception of stigma associated with being a teenage mother may also be factors.
Rise of anti-choice activity in Scotland as abortion is devolved
The Scotland Bill received Royal Assent on 23rd March which means that abortion law has now been devolved to Holyrood. While some worry there will be calls to restrict abortion access, we believe it could in fact pave the way for a better abortion framework, and we are pleased that the Green Party in Scotland have declared their support for decriminalisation in their manifesto. The recent 40 Days for Life ‘vigils’ saw anti abortion campaigners outside a Glasgow hospital, the first time Scotland has seen these US-style protests. Pro-choice activists showed their opposition to this intimidating activity by attending a rally in Glasgow town centre. If you’d like to support our Back Off campaign to introduce buffer zones around abortion clinics to ensure women can access pregnancy advice and abortion centres free from interference and intimidation please email your MP here.
Champion of Choice in the news
Diane Munday, a key member of the Abortion Law Reform Association in the 1960’s, wrote an important letter to the Guardian in the wake of Donald Trump’s comment women should be punished for having an illegal abortion. She noted that we shouldn’t be outraged by Trump, as here in the UK women have faced punishment since 1861 – and a young mother from County Durham is currently imprisoned for two and a half years for “inducing a miscarriage” using abortion medication bought online.
Champion of Choice Nomination
We nominate Naomi Phillips of the British Humanist Association as our Champion of Choice for her continued commitment to women’s reproductive choice. At our recent We Trust Women event Naomi highlighted the need to put women at the front and centre of decision-making. Naomi’s belief that we need to stop criminalising women for what should be a fundamental right, and her dedication to campaigning to make that a reality, makes her a much appreciated champion of choice.
December
Policing Pregnancy
Another set of guidelines have been published on how much alcohol women can drink during pregnancy. The answer, according to the Chief Medical Officer, is none – an extremely precautionary approach, as there is no evidence of harm from low levels of drinking during pregnancy. We were pleased, however, that the new guidance provides some much-needed reassurance for women who have drunk before confirming a pregnancy, quite rightly confirming they are extremely unlikely to have damaged their baby. Most debate focused on the dramatic reduction in the recommended consumption levels for men to the same levels as women (a cynical sop to gender politics according to Simon Heffer in The Guardian). But Linda Geddes (one of our Champions of Choice) was more concerned with the way the guidelines for pregnant women would be interpreted by healthcare professionals, urging honesty about the limitations of the evidence. This isn’t the only policing of pregnancy we have seen recently. Women who are pregnant have even been warned that those potatoes with your Sunday roast could mean you develop gestational diabetes. And woe betide you if you’ve eaten too many: just before Christmas, the CMO also issued a warning that women who were overweight or obese in pregnancy were increasing their risk of complications and “compromising the health of their children”. On Wednesday April 13th, bpas will hosting a conference with Birthrights and the Centre for Parenting Studies on discussions around risks and responsibility in pregnancy today. Find out more here.
Northern Ireland abortion law progress
Judge Horner, who ruled abortion provision in Northern Ireland a breach of human rights, has disappointingly put the onus on the Northern Ireland assembly to change the law. Unsurprisingly the new DUP leader Arlene Foster has stated there will be no extension of the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. However, she said she will “carefully consider” the court ruling on rape exceptions. Generous indeed. As NI politicians continue to fail their women, The Guardian has been running a series of articles highlighting exactly what this means for those women. There have been inspiring videos and animations highlighting the hardship faced by NI women accessing abortion care, and first-hand testimony from doctors and midwives describing the fearful climate in which their profession is working. Do follow this campaign, especially with the shocking news that a woman is being prosecuted in Belfast for taking abortion medication bought online.
Criminalising women
Just before Christmas, Natalie Towers, a 24 year old women from the North of England, was served an immediate custodial service of 30 months for using medicines to end her pregnancy at home, while not knowing that she was in the third trimester. Ann Furedi argued this unnecessary criminalisation of a woman for ending a pregnancy outside of the 1967 Abortion Act was “inhuman”. During the trial it emerged Towers had history of psychological problems and already had a child from a previous pregnancy, which she had also concealed. As Ann noted, however straightforward society makes access to abortion, women’s lives and pregnancies are far from straightforward. Not all women know when they conceived (or had sex). Not all women keep track of their periods (and not all are regular). Not all women experience symptoms, or show signs, of pregnancy, and not all women know where to turn for help. Women who induce their own abortions or conceal pregnancies are acting in desperation. They need compassion and support, not the criminal law and prison sentences.
Clinic protests
This remains an issue across the country. Buzzfeed News investigated the ongoing presence of protesters outside one bpas London clinic, and the impact it has had on local residents. One resident said she had been called a “murderess” because she’d helped a woman gain access to the clinic. Another described an altercation he had with the group after he had seen a girl in tears as a result of them shouting “heathen” at her, standing in her way to the clinic, and praying on their knees in front of her. He had escorted her to the clinic’s door, and had then turned around to confront them. An incident involving one of the protesters’ phone led to the man being taken to the local police station for questioning, after protesters complained. Our Champion of Choice Erika Garrett, who started the phenomenally successful change.org petition to introduce buffer zones outside abortion clinics, has started a new drive to force the government to respond. This petition needs just 3,000 more signatures – please do sign.
IVF cycles
New research shows that it will take two-thirds of couples undergoing IVF treatment up to six cycles to have a successful pregnancy. The researchers behind this study say we should not view the process as a “single shot”, finding that chances of success increased with the number of treatments. Susan Seenan believes it highlights the importance of every CCG in the country offering couples three full cycles, not just one or two which as is increasingly the case around the country. Experts said these results are another reason to an end to IVF postcode lottery currently seen in the UK.
Champions of Choice Nominations
We are nominating Alliance for Choice as a Champion of Choice this month. They are a member-based organisation that campaigns tirelessly for abortion rights in Northern Ireland. You can join their #trustwomen campaign and donate to their cause here. With this latest prosecution, your support is more needed than ever.
November
Northern Ireland abortion law ruling
In welcome news, Belfast’s High Court ruled that existing abortion provision in Northern Ireland is in breach of human rights law. Currently, abortion is only allowed if a woman’s life is at risk or there is a permanent or serious risk to her mental or physical health. The Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission brought the case to extend abortion to cases of fatal foetal anomaly, rape or incest. This was praised by many as “momentous” for the women of Northern Ireland and hailed as a “milestone”. However, as Amnesty’s Grainne Teggart argued, the ruling also shone a light on the Northern Ireland Executive’s failure to prioritise women’s healthcare. Despite these changes, the vast majority of women who need abortion care in Northern Ireland will still need to travel to access it. As bpas’ chief executive Ann Furedi noted: “This judgment recognises the right to autonomy and privacy of pregnant women with a diagnosis of fatal foetal anomaly and those who are victims of a sexual crime. We welcome this ruling – and look forward to the day when the autonomy of all women in Northern Ireland is similarly acknowledged.”
Folic Acid
The BMJ published a study calling for mandatory fortification of food staples with folic acid to decrease the prevalence of neural tube defects like spina bifida and anencephaly in Europe. Although pregnant women are advised to take folic acid supplements, experts from the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition said the high rates of these conditions prove these measures are failing. Less than half of pregnancies are planned, but unplanned is not synonymous with unwanted, and we cannot expect all women of reproductive age to take folic acid on the basis they may get pregnant. Despite the Food Standards Agency recommending that folic acid be added to bread and flour, the government has still not acted on this front. We hope ministers take these recommendations on board and implement what is an extremely effective and straightforward public health intervention. Read more about why we support mandatory fortification here.
#misCOURAGE campaign
The pregnancy charity Tommys started an important campaign this month, #misCOURAGE. It aims to end the silence around miscarriage by encouraging people to share their experiences, and in the process tackle the feelings of guilt and isolation many women feel. There was an honest and moving piece in Grazia which followed the tragic journey of one woman who had experienced 4 miscarriages. Tommy’s survey of more than 6,000 women who had suffered a miscarriage found one-third did not even confide in their partner. As Viv Groskop points out, this highlights just how much we associate miscarriage with failure. By calling on women to talk about their experiences Tommy’s are trying to break the social taboos around miscarriage, which they hope in turn will lead to more interest in funding for research into prevention.
Australia- buffer zones
A ban on anti -abortion protesters harassing people within 150 metres of abortion clinics became law in the Australian state of Victoria. The bill was praised for giving women accessing abortion services the same “privacy, safety and dignity” entitled to all Victorians when seeking health care. As pointed out in The Debrief, the goal of these anti-abortion protesters, whether in Australia or the UK, is to derail a women’s access to abortion care. As one woman who had experienced harassment noted in The Pool, these people “should be stood outside parliament, instead of targeting women who are hurting enough as it is. These people aren’t pro-life – they are anti-women”. Isn’t it about time our government had as much respect for a woman’s right to legal healthcare free from harassment as the Victorians do?
Champions of Choice in the news
Rebecca Schiller, co-chair of Birthrights and a doula wrote a reflective piece for Comment is Free responding to the recent report into stillbirths from Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries. The report found that in 60% of the cases reviewed, different care could have prevented a baby’s death. Rebecca argues, based on her own experiences as a doula, that rather than just investing in machines we need to try and develop a system that listens to women.
Goretti Horgan, one of the 115 activists in Northern Ireland and one of our champions of choice wrote a brilliant article following the abortion ruling in Belfast. Goretti welcomes the judgment but reminds us that thousands of women will still be forced to travel abroad for essential medical care – and those without the necessary funds will resort to self inducing a miscarriage. This situation, she states, is a “national disgrace”
Champions of Choice nomination
Thank you Lauren for nominating ROSA as your Champion of Choice: “Their sheer dedication to the reproductive rights of women makes ROSA a champion. As an Irish organisation, ROSA has tirelessly campaigned to put a stop to the hypocrisy of exporting abortion and repeal the 8th amendment. Their large-scale, high-profile campaign strategies, such as a festival they held in June with speakers debating and spreading word of the abortion rights movement, have been incredibly successful. In particular, ROSA was a lead organiser in the abortion pill bus that travelled throughout Ireland in October, providing women with the help they are entitled to and so clearly need in their country. If it weren’t for consistent voices such as ROSA, change would not take place.”