Religious zealots only show why abortion should be legal

By Suzanne McLaughlin
22nd August

LAST week a 10-year-old Brazilian girl wearing a little flowery dress and cheap
flip-flops was bundled into a car boot clutching her fluffy toy frog. She was
driven through a back door to a hospital guarded by military police past a
throng of right-wing and religious extremists in order to have a termination.

Abortion is allowed in Brazil in just three instances: to save a woman’s life,
if it is the result of rape and if the child is dead. This little girl was
living through two of these circumstances. She was a victim of rape and her
life was in imminent danger and so the judge in her home area ruled that the
abortion should go ahead.

Continued: https://www.thenational.scot/news/18669689.suzanne-mclaughlin-religious-zealots-show-abortion-legal/

UK – Abortion rule changes ‘have serious consequences for women’, appeal case told

A faith group is pursuing legal action against the Department for Health and Social Care.

UK News

Published:
Jul 29, 2020

Changes to abortion rules have “serious and life-changing consequences” for
women, the Court of Appeal has heard.

The Government’s decision to alter policy is “one of the most significant
amendments” in the last five decades of abortion law, according to lawyers for
Christian Concern.

Continued: https://www.expressandstar.com/news/uk-news/2020/07/29/abortion-rule-changes-have-serious-consequences-for-women-appeal-case-told/

29.07.2020

Department for Health and Social Care

Decriminalising abortion is a long road. Campaigners Vicky Spratt and Diane Munday would know.

Decriminalising abortion is a long road. Campaigners Vicky Spratt and Diane Munday would know.

By Rachel Thompson
Jun 18, 2020

Vicky Spratt and Diane Munday are campaigning to decriminalise abortion in England, Scotland, and Wales.

Diane Munday campaigned to legalise abortion in Britain in the 1960s. Her activism has not only changed women’s lives in this country — but saved them. Along with journalist Vicky Spratt, Munday is fighting for the decrimalisation of abortion in England and Wales. Spratt has also changed the law. Her #MakeRentingFair campaign resulted in the government banning letting agency fees for tenants.

Continued: https://mashable.com/article/vicky-spratt-diane-munday-history-becomes-her/

UK – Like Everything Else, Abortion Needs To Change After This

Like Everything Else, Abortion Needs To Change After This

Vicky Spratt
16 April 2020

Was the Health Secretary Matt Hancock gaslighting women in Britain when he allowed draft legislation permitting at-home abortions during the pandemic we’re currently living through to be published and unpublished? We will never know.

In the end, because of a cacophonous campaign from abortion experts at the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) and Marie Stopes, the government did a u-turn and confirmed that, for as long as this crisis rages on, women will be able to take abortion medication in the safety and comfort of their own home after a telephone consultation with a doctor (also known as telemedicine).

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2020/04/9700087/abortion-law-change-during-coronavirus

Only 2 Political Parties Have Pledged To Decriminalise Abortion In England & Wales

Only 2 Political Parties Have Pledged To Decriminalise Abortion In England & Wales

By Lauren Sharkey
Nov 27, 2019

Manifestos have been released and election campaigns are well underway. But a closer look at each manifesto has revealed that only two major parties are promising to decriminalise abortion in England and Wales.

Although the 1967 Abortion Act permits abortions up to 24 weeks, the Victorian-era 1861 Offences Against The Person Act was never repealed. This means that abortions performed outside of the Abortion Act's parameters are technically punishable by a lengthy prison sentence. (Both the person having the abortion and the people assisting it are at risk of criminal prosecution.)

Continued: https://www.bustle.com/p/only-2-political-parties-have-pledged-to-decriminalise-abortion-in-england-wales-19407527

Campaign launched to abolish old law which means abortion is still technically illegal in England, Scotland and Wales

Campaign launched to abolish old law which means abortion is still technically illegal in England, Scotland and Wales

Bronwen Weatherby
Oct 26, 2019

A campaign has been launched to abolish an old law which means abortion is still technically illegal in England, Scotland and Wales.

In the wake of decriminalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland earlier this week, campaigners say England, Scotland and Wales now have "the most draconian abortion laws in the union".

Continued: https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/campaign-launched-to-abolish-old-law-which-means-abortion-is-still-technically-illegal-in-england-a4270946.html

Abortion Still Isn’t Fully Decriminalised In England & Wales — This Campaign Wants To Change That

Abortion Still Isn't Fully Decriminalised In England & Wales — This Campaign Wants To Change That

By Lauren Sharkey
Oct 23, 2019

In a week where one part of the UK is celebrating the introduction of long-awaited-for reproductive rights, the rest are slowly realising they now live in the least progressive parts of the nation. Thanks to a Victorian-era law, abortion is still technically a criminal offence in England and Wales. But a campaign, led by Refinery29 and an 88-year-old campaigner, is aiming to decriminalise it once and for all.

Currently, England and Wales adhere to the 1967 Abortion Act. (Scotland did too until 2016 when powers were handed over to the Scottish Parliament, per the BBC.) This legislation allows abortions up to 24 weeks, but only if two doctors state that continuing with a pregnancy would involve a greater risk to a person's physical or mental health than terminating it.

Continued: https://www.bustle.com/p/abortion-still-isnt-fully-decriminalised-in-england-wales-this-campaign-wants-to-change-that-19261224

UK – Why We’re Campaigning To Change Abortion Law

Why We’re Campaigning To Change Abortion Law

Vicky Spratt
21 October 2019

At some point in their lives, before the age of 45, one in three women will have an abortion. Just like pregnancy itself, the need to terminate one is a fact of life. More than this, being able to access safe, free and legal abortion services should you need to is acknowledged to be a basic human right for women and pregnant people.

Since 1967, abortion has been legal in England, Scotland and Wales because of the Abortion Act, a victory that was hard-fought and won by campaigners. For those of us who have grown up in Britain since, access to abortion is something we have (for the most part) been able to take for granted.

Continued: https://www.refinery29.com/en-gb/2019/10/8572968/imacriminal-abortion-campaign

Northern Ireland faces decriminalization of abortion

Northern Ireland faces decriminalization of abortion
The UK region's strict abortion law is set to change after politicians in London stepped in to legislate to end decades of discrimination against British and Irish women there. The legislation dates back to 1861.

Date 20.10.2019
Author Amanda Ferguson (Belfast)

Northern Ireland's abortion legislation is some of the most restrictive in the world and come from the Victorian-era of history. Pro-choice campaigners have for decades pursued legal challenges for them to be changed to respect women's human rights.

The 1967 Abortion Act in Britain, allowing for abortion up to 24 weeks in the rest of the United Kingdom, was never extended to Northern Ireland.

Continued: https://www.dw.com/en/northern-ireland-faces-decriminalization-of-abortion/a-50890268

Northern Ireland Is About to Reform Its Abortion Law – Now What?

Northern Ireland Is About to Reform Its Abortion Law – Now What?
If its government doesn't reconvene by October 21st, its draconian law will be tossed out the window. Activists are counting down the days.

by Mary McGill
18 October 2019

With just a few days to go until October 21st, it is almost certain that Northern Ireland’s draconian law against abortion will be reformed. The political situation in Northern Ireland is complex. The region’s devolved government has been suspended for over two years. For campaigners fighting for equal rights issues like abortion, this stalemate has been frustrating.

That is, until July of this year, when Westminster issued a ruling paving the way for the liberalisation of the region’s abortion legislation, provided Northern Ireland’s government does not reconvene before October 21st. Although there are fears that Boris Johnson will use abortion in Northern Ireland as a bargaining tactic in Brexit negotiations, at this late stage reform is unlikely to be derailed

Continued: https://www.vice.com/en_in/article/mbmkbb/northern-ireland-abortion-law-reform