Jeremy Hunt Told Us He “Authorised” The Funding Of Abortions For Northern Irish Women. Campaigners Beg To Disagree.

Jeremy Hunt Told Us He "Authorised" The Funding Of Abortions For Northern Irish Women. Campaigners Beg To Disagree.
The government only agreed to fund abortions for women from Northern Ireland after Hunt opposed a legal challenge by a mother and daughter seeking NHS funding for abortions for Northern Irish women.

June 18, 2019
Hannah Al-Othman, BuzzFeed News Reporter

Tory leadership candidate Jeremy Hunt has been criticised by abortion rights campaigners for claiming credit for the funding the government provides for women in Northern Ireland to travel to England to get abortions.

At a hustings event in Westminster on Monday, BuzzFeed News asked Hunt whether, if he became prime minister, he would extend abortion rights to women in Northern Ireland, where it is currently illegal in most circumstances, including cases of rape, incest, and fatal foetal abnormalities.

Continued: https://www.buzzfeed.com/hannahalothman/jeremy-hunt-told-us-he-authorised-the-funding-of-abortions


MPs from all sides call for abortion law in N Ireland to be relaxed

MPs from all sides call for abortion law in N Ireland to be relaxed
Letter follows UN declaration that forcing women in Northern Ireland to travel to England is human rights infringement

Jane Martinson
Wed 7 Mar 2018

More than 100 MPs and peers from all parties have written to the home secretary, Amber Rudd, calling for women in Northern Ireland to be allowed access to abortion services locally rather than having to come to England.

The letter, signed by 131 parliamentarians including eight Conservatives such as the former education secretary Justine Greening and the former chancellor Ken Clarke, the former Liberal leader David Steel and the shadow home secretary, Yvette Cooper, follows a UN declaration that forcing women to travel for an abortion is an infringement of their human rights.

continued: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/07/mps-from-all-sides-call-for-abortion-law-in-n-ireland-to-be-relaxed


UK: Abortion is still illegal in this country

Abortion is still illegal in this country
Fifty years after the Abortion Act, women are still dying from being denied basic services, write activists from Feminist Fightback

November 15, 2017

On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the Abortion Act, activists from Feminist Fightback found ourselves dressed as flight attendants, transforming the London Overground into the cabin of an Abortion Airlines Boeing 67. We distributed our own version of inflight safety cards and presented a special inflight safety announcement, advising passengers that ‘the exits…lead to an unsafe backstreet abortion and possible death…please assume the brace position for the duration of this Abortion Airlines flight”. We were met with whoops and cheers from passengers who, like us, are appalled by the fact that the Act still does not extend to the North of Ireland and that at least two people per day have to board a flight to travel to England to terminate a pregnancy. Fifty years on from the Abortion Act there are still people living in the UK denied this basic human right. This includes many migrants who, as NHS charges are introduced and health workers legally obligated to check immigration status, are deterred from accessing both abortion and maternity services.

Continued at source: http://www.redpepper.org.uk/abortion-is-still-illegal-in-this-country/


Scotland offers free abortions to women from Northern Ireland

Scotland offers free abortions to women from Northern Ireland

6 November 2017
Women from Northern Ireland can now have free abortions through the NHS in Scotland.

Abortions are illegal in Northern Ireland except for cases where the woman's health is at risk.

That has led to women travelling to Great Britain, where they have had to pay for terminations.

New regulations allowing women from Northern Ireland to access abortion services in Scotland come into force on Monday.

Continued at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-41879520


Supreme Court examines NI abortion law appeal

Supreme Court examines NI abortion law appeal

25 October 2017

A barrister has claimed that Northern Ireland's abortion legislation has "saved 100,000 lives". He was speaking for the Christian Action and Research in Education (CARE), on the second day of an appeal relating to the laws.

Supreme Court judges are being asked to consider whether the existing rules breach a woman's human rights.

A lawyer for Amnesty International challenged the figure put forward by CARE's legal representative.

Continued at source: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-41743629


after 50 years of fighting, northern ireland’s abortion rights movement finally has its day in court

after 50 years of fighting, northern ireland’s abortion rights movement finally has its day in court
And at the awards.

Roisin Lanigan
Oct 24 2017

For over 50 years Northern Irish women have languished behind the rest of the UK when it comes to accessing safe, legal, free abortions, but that might just finally come to an end. Today, London's Supreme Court will hear a landmark appeal against Northern Ireland's strict, draconian abortion laws, where termination of pregnancy is classed as a criminal offence punishable with up to life imprisonment. Today's appeal, which takes place just a week after Belfast's rally for choice, will argue that the current laws in place, which do not allow terminations even on the grounds of fatal foetal abnormality, are incompatible with international human rights.

Continued at source: https://i-d.vice.com/en_uk/article/pa3bqm/after-50-years-of-fighting-northern-irelands-abortion-rights-movement-finally-has-its-day-in-court


Northern Irish women offered free abortion services in England

Northern Irish women offered free abortion services in England

Justine Greening announces funding for previous pledge to stop charging women who undergo procedure

Jessica Elgot
Monday 23 October 2017

The UK government has revealed plans to provide free abortion services in England for women from Northern Ireland, which has some of Europe’s most restrictive laws on terminations.

The government announced a change of policy in June in an attempt to head off a Tory rebellion in a vote on the Queen’s speech. Dozens of Conservatives had suggested to whips that they would vote on an amendment spearheaded by the Labour MP Stella Creasy to give Northern Irish women free access to termination.

Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/23/northern-irish-women-offered-free-abortion-services-in-england


UK: Stella Creasy ‘received Jo Cox-style death threat from anti-abortion activist’

Stella Creasy 'received Jo Cox-style death threat from anti-abortion activist'

Kate Proctor, Political Reporter
Thursday 6 July 2017

A London MP has called in police after receiving a death threat from an alleged anti-abortion activist saying she will die like Jo Cox.

Stella Creasy said she had received a torrent of abuse since forcing the Government to fund abortions for Northern Irish women arriving in England.

Continued at source: The Standard: http://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/stella-creasy-received-jo-coxstyle-death-threat-from-antiabortion-activist-a3581291.html


UK: Government U-turns on NHS abortions for Northern Ireland women

Government U-turns on NHS abortions for Northern Ireland women

The Government is heading off a possible defeat on the issue at the hands of Labour

Jon Stone, Rob Merrick
Thursday 29 June 2017

The English NHS will provide free abortions for women visiting from Northern Ireland, the Government has announced.

Chancellor Philip Hammond announced the policy change in the House of Commons after Labour proposed an amendment to the Queen's Speech that would have forced the change.

The amendment, proposed by MP Stella Creasy, was picked for a vote later today – and was expected to be backed by some Tory backbenchers.

Continued at source: The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/northern-ireland-nhs-abortions-uk-pay-terminations-pregnancy-philip-hammond-dup-a7814606.html


UK: The government’s abortion commitment is good news. But it’s not enough

The government’s abortion commitment is good news. But it’s not enough

As long as women from Northern Ireland have to travel for terminations they are still hugely disadvantaged. We need the law at home to change too

Elizabeth Nelson
Thursday 29 June 2017

Abortion for women in Northern Ireland has become a high stakes issue in British politics for perhaps the first time ever, potentially exposing the first faultlines in the young Tory-DUP agreement to maintain a weakened Conservative government. Following Stella Creasy’s attempt to amend the Queen’s speech, the government has offered a new commitment to fund abortions for Northern Irish women on the NHS in England and Wales. It’s a welcome step and will potentially have an immediate impact on widening access to basic healthcare for UK citizens who have long been denied this right.

Continued at source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/29/northern-ireland-women-abortion-amendment-access