Champagne and cigars are just fine. It’s Thérèse Coffey’s views on abortion that worry me

Let’s not mock the health secretary for her socialising but pay attention to her politics

Catherine Bennett
10 Sep 2022

‘Tiz” and Liz. Elena Ferrante’s Lenù and Lila transplanted to Downham Market. It came as news to a lot of us that Truss’s premiership is also the latest chapter in her long friendship with Thérèse Coffey, whom she has just made deputy prime minister and health secretary.

Last week, their joint struggle – via marital drama, constituency revolt and other colourful setbacks – to escape the stultifying culture of student politics and seek fulfilment at the very top of the Conservative party culminated in a joyful series of interviews by the loyal deputy.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/sep/10/liz-truss-gifted-bff-tiz-chance-harm-womens-rights-to-abortion

10.09.2022

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abortion pills at home

Therese Coffey’s views on abortion concerning, charity says

By Ione Wells, Political correspondent
Sept 7, 2022

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service has called the new health secretary's record on abortion rights "deeply concerning"

Therese Coffey, appointed by new PM Liz Truss, has previously voted against extending access to abortion care.

Abortion charities have accused Ms Coffey of putting her personal beliefs "above expert clinical guidance".

Continued: https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-62805268

07.09.2022

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at-home abortion provision

Bpas

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

Record number of abortions in England and Wales amid financial insecurity

Terminations increase to 215,000 with most pronounced rise among women aged 30-34

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Tue 21 Jun 2022

A record number of abortions took place in England and Wales last year in a trend experts said was driven by financial uncertainty caused by Covid-19.

There were 214,869 terminations during 2021, the highest number since the procedure became legal in Great Britain through the 1967 Abortion Act, the latest annual abortion statistics published on Tuesday show. Numbers have been going up every year since 2016.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/jun/21/record-number-of-abortions-in-england-and-wales-amid-financial-insecurity

21.06.2022

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abortion numbers in the UK

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

Clare Murphy

Jonathan Lord

MSI Reproductive Choices

UK – Renewed calls for abortion clinic buffer zones to protect women from abuse

29th May
By PA News Agency

Medical leaders have made a renewed call for legislation to protect women from “unacceptable” harassment and intimidation outside abortion clinics.

The Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH), which represents more than 14,000 UK doctors, has issued a new position statement calling for a nationwide network of buffer zones around abortion clinics.

Continued: https://www.largsandmillportnews.com/news/20174360.renewed-calls-abortion-clinic-buffer-zones-protect-women-abuse/

MPs vote to continue abortion ‘pills by post’ scheme in England

Government will be forced to abandon its plan to end a two-year trial of the scheme in August

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Wed 30 Mar 2022

Women in England will be able to access a “pills by post” abortion service indefinitely after MPs voted today to compel ministers to make it permanent instead of scrapping the scheme in September.

The decision will benefit tens of thousands of women every year who want to take the two tablets needed to end a pregnancy in the privacy of their own home rather than having to take the first at a clinic or hospital. They have to be taken within the first 10 weeks of pregnancy.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/30/mps-vote-to-continue-abortion-pills-by-post-scheme-in-england

UK – At-home abortion care to continue after being introduced in lockdown

Several MPs spoke passionately about their experiences of family members having to go to clinics for early abortions.

Alix Culbertson, Political reporter
Wednesday 30 March 2022

MPs have voted to allow women in England to continue to access abortion care at home after it was introduced during the pandemic.

Before the pandemic, women were required to attend a clinic in-person to access abortion pills, but during the first lockdown in March 2020 women have been able to receive the pills by post following a phone or video consultation.

Continued: https://news.sky.com/story/mps-vote-to-continue-at-home-abortion-care-introduced-in-lockdown-12578383

MPs vote on whether to end abortion ‘pills by post’ in England

Scotland and Wales set to make the postal service permanent, while ministers in England end the trial

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Tue 29 Mar 2022

Women in England will only be able to access abortion tablets online illegally because ministers are ending the “pills by post” trial, MPs have been told before a crucial Commons vote on the scheme.

Medical groups, pro-choice campaigners and women’s organisations say the government’s decision to end the two-year experiment will lead to those seeking a termination breaking the law and risking criminal charges.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/mar/29/mps-vote-on-whether-to-end-abortion-pills-by-post-in-england

England abortion ‘pills by post’ scheme to be scrapped in September

Change in law during Covid pandemic has allowed women to take pills without visiting clinic or hospital

Denis Campbell Health policy editor
Thu 24 Feb 2022

Women in England will be able to access abortion pills more easily for the next six months, but the temporary “pills by post” scheme brought in because of Covid will then be scrapped in September.

Maggie Throup, the public health minister, confirmed on Thursday that women seeking to terminate a pregnancy by taking the two pills involved at home would lose that right at the end of August.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/feb/24/england-abortion-pill-by-post-scheme-scrapped-september-change-law-covid-pandemic

One in four pregnancies ends in abortion in England and Wales

Neil Johnston, The Times
Friday August 06 2021

More than one in four pregnancies now end in abortion as more older women opt for terminations, figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said
that the share of women who choose abortion is now more than a quarter for the
first time as the number rose for the second year in a row.

Continued: https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/one-in-four-pregnancies-end-in-abortion-in-england-and-wales-dxfp65b2g

06.08.2021

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News

British Pregnancy Advisory Service

Clare Murphy

incidence of abortion

James Mildred

Office for National Statistics

Record number of women in England and Wales had abortions in 2020

Increase put down to women being able to seek treatment at home and financial uncertainty

Sarah Marsh
Thu 10 Jun 2021

A record number of women in England and Wales had an abortion last year, with the rise particularly among women aged 30 and over.

A total of 209,917 abortions were reported in 2020, with the numbers rising year on year and up from 207,384 in 2019. The largest increases in abortion rates by age were among women aged 30 to 34 with a rise from 16.5 per 1,000 in 2010 to 21.9 in 2020.

Continued: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jun/10/record-number-of-women-in-england-and-wales-had-abortions-in-2020

10.06.2021