UK: A bitter pill

A bitter pill
Health bodies are proposing a change to make abortions easier to get. Could this stop the trade in illegal abortion pills?

Josh Wilmer 6th November 2017

You need to be at home or somewhere comfortable. Know which hospital you’re going to if things go wrong, and be able to get there in less than an hour. It’s normal to carry on bleeding for days, even weeks.

That makes up some of the online advice for women who buy abortion pills online instead of having a termination on the NHS. Despite having access to free abortions, under medical supervision, many British women are paying money to buy pills online and going it alone.

Continued at source: https://theovertake.com/~alpha/abortion-pills/

UK: The Guardian view on 50 years of legal abortion: let’s finish the work

The Guardian view on 50 years of legal abortion: let’s finish the work
Editorial
David Steel’s act was a job half done. Abortion is not a crime, it’s a matter of health

Thursday 26 October 2017

It is 50 years on Friday since David Steel’s abortion act became law. It did not come into force until the following April. In those six months, it is likely that around 70 women died from sepsis or some other cause resulting from illegal abortion: in the previous decade, it claimed at least 150 lives a year, the biggest single cause of maternal mortality. Activists in a campaign that began in the 1930s toasted victory with champagne. But one veteran, who had had an illegal abortion herself, dampened the celebrations. They should be drinking half-glasses, she said, for the job was only half done.

Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/oct/26/the-guardian-view-on-50-years-of-legal-abortion-lets-finish-the-work

UK: Anne Robinson discusses having an abortion as ‘very unhappy’ newlywed

Anne Robinson discusses having an abortion as 'very unhappy' newlywed

Henry Bodkin
11 October 2017

Anne Robinson will talk about having an abortion as part of a new BBC documentary marking 50 years since the practice was partially decriminalised.

The 73-year-old Weakest Link presenter said it was “out of the question” not to discuss her own experience and that doing so was a vital part of the filmmaking process.

Titled Abortion On Trial, the programme sees Ms Robinson invite nine people with conflicting views on the topic to her Gloucestershire home to share their personal stories.

Continued at source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/10/11/anne-robinson-discusses-having-abortion-unhappy-newlywed/

11.10.2017

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UK: This Leading Pregnancy Doctor Says Abortion Shouldn’t Be Considered Controversial

This Leading Pregnancy Doctor Says Abortion Shouldn't Be Considered Controversial

Professor Wendy Savage made the comments after members of the Royal College of Gynaecologists voted in favour of relaxing current abortion laws.
Posted on September 27, 2017
Laura Silver, BuzzFeed News Reporter

A leading pregnancy doctor has dismissed claims that the decriminalisation of abortion in England and Wales would lead to a "free for all", after members of the Royal College of Gynaecologists voted in favour of relaxing current abortion laws.

According to the Abortion Act 1967, women who choose to terminate a pregnancy can be punished by life in prison unless the procedure is obtained in highly specific clinical settings. RCOG joins the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Midwifes in formally supporting removal of criminal sanctions around abortion in England and Wales.

Continued at source: https://www.buzzfeed.com/laurasilver/this-leading-pregnancy-doctor-says-abortion-shouldnt-be

UK: Pregnancy doctors back abortion on demand with no criminal sanctions

Pregnancy doctors back abortion on demand with no criminal sanctions

Henry Bodkin
22 September 2017

The leaders of Britain’s pregnancy doctors have voted to support abortion on demand, despite a revolt from members.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists tonight formally demanded the full decriminalisation of terminations at any stage in a pregnancy.

The influential body will now lobby Government for a change in the law, aping the stance of Britain’s doctors’ union, the British Medical Association, which voted for decriminalisation in June.

Continued: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/09/22/pregnancy-doctors-back-abortion-demand-no-criminal-sanctions/

22.09.2017

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Lesley Regan

Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists

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Law

Abortion should not be a crime, say Britain’s childbirth doctors

Abortion should not be a crime, say Britain's childbirth doctors

Members of Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists vote in favour of decriminalisation of abortion

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Friday 22 September 2017

Britain’s childbirth doctors have urged ministers to scrap laws dating to Victorian times that could see a woman jailed for life for having an abortion.

The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) voted on Friday to support the growing demand for decriminalisation of abortion in Britain.

Its ruling council agreed to change the college’s position from neutrality on the issue to one that urges the repeal of sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861.

Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/sep/22/abortion-decriminalise-crime-britain-childbirth-doctors

22.09.2017

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decriminalization of abortion

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UK: Abortions on demand: Top medic says the rule that two doctors must sign for a termination should be scrapped

Abortions on demand: Top medic says the rule that two doctors must sign for a termination should be scrapped

By Sophie Borland Health Editor For The Daily Mail

Published: 16 September 2017

Women should be able to terminate pregnancies with the approval of a single doctor, says one of the country’s top medical leaders.

Professor Lesley Regan, president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said abortions should be treated no differently from other medical procedures – including something as simple as removing a bunion.

She called for abortions to be decriminalised and made much more freely available.

Continued at source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4889942/Top-medic-calls-looser-abortion-laws.html

16.09.2017

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UK: Weakened Tories forced into Northern Ireland abortion u-turn

Weakened Tories forced into Northern Ireland abortion u-turn

Sarah Sachs-Eldridge, Socialist Party national organizer
July 4, 2017

Thursday 29 June 2017 saw a significant step forward for women in Northern Ireland (NI). Funding to cover the financial costs for them to access abortions in England was pledged by the Tory minority government.

The Tories' 'supply and confidence' deal with the ten DUP MPs turned a spotlight on Northern Irish politics. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the 1967 Abortion Act that introduced free, legal abortion for women in England, Wales and Scotland within certain limitations. It was understood by those who fought for this legislation that women should have the right to choose when and whether to have children and that the right to an abortion is a life or death issue. But no major party in NI supports extending it there.

Continued at source: Socialist Party: http://www.socialistparty.org.uk/issue/955/25805/05-07-2017/weakened-tories-forced-into-northern-ireland-abortion-u-turn

UK: The power of the pro-choice movement

The power of the pro-choice movement

Ann Furedi
CEO, BPAS
3 July 2017

The Tories’ Northern Ireland concession shows how much things have changed.

Although the announcement that the government will fund abortions in England for women from Northern Ireland appeared to come out of nowhere, the issue has been a festering sore for successive governments for years.

Of all the demands of the UK pro-choice movement, equity in access to abortion services for women from Northern Ireland has traditionally been the one that attracts the most sympathy.

Continued at source: Spiked: http://www.spiked-online.com/newsite/article/the-power-of-the-pro-choice-movement/20032

United Kingdom doctors’ union calls for change in abortion law

United Kingdom doctors' union calls for change in abortion law
Posted on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 by Jared Roy
British Medical Association Votes to Decriminalise Abortion After 24 Weeks

Hundreds of doctors at the BMA's annual conference voted Tuesday to back changing the law.

A motion by the City and Hackney division called on the BMA to adopt a policy of total decriminalisation of abortion in the United Kingdom, as was done successfully by Canada in 1988.

The current law states that a woman can abort her baby up to 24 weeks as long as two doctors agree that continuing the pregnancy is harmful for her or the unborn child. There is no time limit for high-risk cases.

The decision was met with anger by anti-abortion groups, which accused doctors of furthering an "extremist agenda".

Continued at source: Leicester Post: http://leicesterpost.com/2017/06/28/united-kingdom-doctors-union-calls-for-change-in-abortion/

28.06.2017