UK – NHS pressures leave one woman a week unable to access abortion with no legal option other than childbirth, charity warns

NHS pressures leave one woman a week unable to access abortion with no legal option other than childbirth, charity warns
Experts 'deeply saddened' by shocking number of women denied access to legal abortion care

Alex Matthews-King Health Correspondent
Thursday 15 March 2018

One woman a week in Britain is unable to get access to specialist abortion care because of a lack of capacity in the NHS, leaving them with no legal option but to give birth, a report has warned.

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) said “service pressures” mean women with complex medical needs are having their lives put at risk waiting for abortion care.

Continued: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/hs-abortion-women-access-legal-option-childbirth-mothers-waiting-times-a8256096.html

GREAT BRITAIN – Documenting the harassment of anti-abortion protests

GREAT BRITAIN – Documenting the harassment of anti-abortion protests
by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion
Mar 2, 2018

The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (Bpas) is a charity that offers abortion care, contraception, STI testing, miscarriage management, and pregnancy counselling to nearly 80,000 women each year via clinics in England, Wales, and Scotland. As part of their advocacy work, they have been running the Back Off campaign to introduce legal buffer zones around abortion clinics and pregnancy advisory bureaux since 2014, based on evidence collected from their clients that protests outside clinics are distressing and intimidating. Their work with Rupa Huq, a Member of Parliament, led to the establishment of a government review into protests outside abortion clinics, to which they wrote an in-depth response.

In the last 12 months, 18 of their 70 clinics have been affected by anti-abortion protests, including:

Continued:http://www.safeabortionwomensright.org/great-britain-documenting-the-harassment-of-anti-abortion-protests/

More than 3,000 British abortions for women from Republic

More than 3,000 British abortions for women from Republic
2016 figures show further 724 women from North got abortions in England and Wales

Dec 18, 2017
Shane Hickey in London

This year marked the 50th anniversary of the legalisation of abortion in Britain and it is now estimated by the National Health Service (NHS) that one in three women will have a termination in their lifetime.

Last year, there were just over 190,000 abortions carried out in England and Wales, according to figures from the department of health in the UK.

Continued at source: https://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/more-than-3-000-british-abortions-for-women-from-republic-1.3330477

UK: Women fought for abortion rights. Fifty years on, the service is in crisis

Women fought for abortion rights. Fifty years on, the service is in crisis
The NHS has been outsourcing the procedure and failing to train specialist staff. Now hundreds of women can’t get an abortion, putting their lives at risk

Tim Friend
Tuesday 24 October 2017

Half a century after abortion was made legal in England, Scotland and Wales, outsourcing of NHS services and a subsequent lack of specialist doctors mean that hundreds of women each year are prevented from having an abortion, sometimes seriously threatening their health, according to leading medics.

“The system is broken. It’s in crisis. Not fit for purpose,” says professor Lesley Regan, the president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG).

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/oct/24/women-abortion-rights-service-crisis-nhs-no-specialist-doctors

If Northern Irish women can now have an abortion in England, why not here?

If Northern Irish women can now have an abortion in England, why not here?
A policy offering free terminations for those who can travel is a first step. Now we need to change the law for those who can’t
Pro-choice rally in Northern Ireland

Goretti Horgan
Tuesday 22 August 2017

Northern Ireland’s Department of Health has declined to issue new guidance on abortion to doctors and other health professionals because “there has been no change to the law on abortion”. This is despite the fact that the situation clearly has changed since women from the region can now access free, NHS abortions in England.

This stubborn refusal to recognise the reality of women’s reproductive healthcare needs is concerning because it ignores the fact that, at present, GPs in Northern Ireland are not permitted to purchase procedures outside Northern Ireland “that would be illegal in Northern Ireland”. This prohibition clearly needs to be updated to take account of the new situation.

Continued at source: The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/aug/22/women-northern-ireland-abortion-reproductive-rights-westminster-change-law

International law and the provision of abortion services

International law and the provision of abortion services

Kirsten Sjøvoll considers whether the Supreme Court's approach to international law as an aid to interpretation of the ECHR is out of step with Strasbourg, and where this leaves international law as an interpretative aid generally

By Kirsten Sjovoll · On July 28, 2017

In R (A & B) v Secretary of State for Health [2017] UKSC 41 the Supreme Court considered whether the Secretary of State’s failure to exercise his power to require that abortion services be provided through the NHS in England – to women ordinarily resident in Northern Ireland – was unlawful. The question was whether he failed to discharge his duty under the National Health Service Act 2006, s 3 to “take such steps as he considers necessary to meet all reasonable requirements” for services. It also considered whether the continuing failure to provide such abortion services infringed the European Convention on Human Rights (“ECHR” of “the Convention”), art 14 in conjunction with 8. In particular, the Supreme Court considered to what extent these rights under the ECHR should be informed by other obligations and principles of international law.

Continued at source: Law of Nations Blog: https://lawofnationsblog.com/2017/07/28/international-law-provision-abortion-services/

UK: BPAS withdraws abortion fees for Northern Irish women

BPAS withdraws abortion fees for Northern Irish women
British Pregnancy Advisory Services acts ‘in response to government’s commitment to provide abortion care funding’

Henry McDonald Ireland correspondent
Monday 3 July 2017

Northern Irish women who travel to England, Scotland or Wales to have abortions will no longer have to pay consultation and treatment fees to the British Pregnancy Advisory Service.

BPAS announced on Monday that it had decided also to refund women from the region who used their services last Friday, after the threat of a parliamentary defeat over the Queen’s speech last week forced the government to scrap its policy of not funding abortions on the NHS for Northern Irish women in other parts of Britain.

Continued at source: The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/03/bpas-withdraws-abortion-fees-northern-irish-women

Northern Ireland women to get free abortions in England

Northern Ireland women to get free abortions in England

29 June 2017
Women from Northern Ireland will be able to get free abortions in England, the government has said.

More than 50 MPs from the major parties had backed a Labour-led call for the women to have access to NHS abortions in England. They currently have to pay.

The BBC's political editor said ministers made the concession because it appeared some Tory MPs might back the call, risking a possible defeat.

Continued at link: http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-40438390

UK: Abortion rights for Northern Irish women in UK ‘must be addressed’

Abortion rights for Northern Irish women in UK 'must be addressed'

MPs raise fears that Conservative deal with DUP may scupper free terminations in Great Britain for women from Northern Ireland

Jessica Elgot
Monday 26 June 2017

MPs have warned that abortion rights for Northern Irish women travelling to Great Britain for a termination must be addressed despite the Conservative deal with the DUP, repeatedly raising their concerns during a heated debate in the Commons.

Labour MP Stella Creasy and Conservative MP Anna Soubry were among those who called on the government to permit Northern Irish women terminations in England without charge.

Continued at source: The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/26/abortion-rights-for-northern-irish-women-in-uk-must-be-addressed-mps-conservative-deal-dup

UK:MPs to argue Northern Irish women have right to abortion on NHS

MPs to argue Northern Irish women have right to abortion on NHS

Cross-party MPs want amendment to Queen’s speech to act as warning to government over DUP pact

Jessica Elgot Political reporter
Friday 23 June 2017

MPs from all the major parties will argue that abortion should be provided on the NHS in England for Northern Irish women, in an amendment to the Queen’s speech which supporters said would act as a warning to Downing Street about the implications of a pact with the Democratic Unionist party.

The amendment, coordinated by the Labour MP Stella Creasy with the support of the Conservative MP Sir Peter Bottomley, asks the government to consider legislating so women from Northern Ireland have NHS abortion provision when they travel to England to terminate a pregnancy.

Continued at source: The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jun/23/mps-argue-northern-irish-women-right-to-abortion-nhs

23.06.2017