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Why we need reform - Whose Choice?
It is a popular misconception that the current law allows for
abortion at the request of the women concerned. In fact, abortion is
legal only if two doctors certify that it is necessary under the terms
of the 1967 Act. An unwanted pregnancy is not one of these terms.
Some doctors accept that an unwanted pregnancy is potentially harmful and will support her request for this reason. They are legally permitted to do this.
Other doctors may be judgemental, obstructive and unhelpful,
delaying women or turning them away in circumstances where another
doctor would consider an abortion to be warranted. They are legally permitted to do this.
By allowing doctors to exercise wide discretion and make personal
judgements over women, the 1967 Abortion Act creates a climate of
uncertainty and potential for unfair and arbitary discrimination. It
places and additional, unjust emotioanl burden on women who may already
be facing one of the most difficult and traumatic decisions of their
lives.
The law must be amended to recognise that the only person capable of
deciding whether or not a pregnancy should continue is the person most
affected by that decision - the woman herself.
Why we need reform - Barriers to access
Recent studies in the United Kingdom have demonstrated the wide
disparity in the provision of NHS abortion services in various parts of
the country; the level of NHS provision ranges from more than 90% of
local demand to less than 60% in some health authority areas. And, of
course, in Northern Ireland, where the 1967 Abortion Act does not
apply, both NHS and private sector provision is non-existent.
Some health authorities do not consider abortion services to be
particularly important and accord them low priority for funding, which
means they fail to meet the needs of local women. A woman with an
unwanted pregnancy cannot expect to be referred for an NHS abortion in
the way that a woman with a wanted pregnancy can expect NHS ante-natal
and maternity care.
Lack of provision may have grave implications for women's health,
since inadequate local NHS funding tends to result in long waiting
lists, or arbitary restrictions, such as refusing women who have
previously had NHS abortions or are beyond a certain number of weeks of
pregnancy. Women in low income groups are particularly vulnerable, as
they cannot resort to the private sector in the event that local NHS
providers turn them away.
By placing a duty on health authorities to fully fund abortions for
local women, the number of late abortions will be reduced, with a
consequent reduction in physical complications and emotional traumas
associated with later procedures.
Why we need reform - Northern Ireland
The women of Northern Ireland have to travel to Britain in order to
secure abortion, because the 1967 Abortion Act does not extend to
Northern Ireland. An average of 40 women every week make the journey to
private clinics, largely travelling in secret, at great personal cost,
both financially and emotionally. They are denied medical treatment
legally available to other women in the United Kingdom, and will
fequently be unable to obtain proper post abortion care or counselling,
because doctors in Northern Ireland - who are understandably dubious
about their precarious legal position - are poorly trained in, and
reluctant to deal with, the complications of abortion.
Implementing a right to access legal abortion services in Northern
Ireland will end thirty years of the most blatant discrimination
against a section of the United Kingdom community, and will reflect the
public will of the people of Northern Ireland, who have consistently
supported legal abortion.
Why we need reform - Union with Europe
In 1967, Britain led the world in framing a progressive legislation
for abortion. The 1967 Abortion Act has since been superseded and
rendered archaic and paternalistic by the legislative reforms made by
Britain's European partners, most of which have introduced laws which
provide abortion on request in the first trimester of pregnancy.
There is no evidence that a liberal reform of abortion legislation
will result in an increase in the numbers of women seeking to access
the service. On the contrary, if coupled with progressive sex education
programmes and access to comprehensive family planning services, the
evidence suggests an opposite effect, as experience from the
Netherlands and Finland, where abortion rates are amongst the lowest in
the world, clearly demonstrates.
The United Kingdom needs to follow the example of the majority of
its European partners and extend to the women of Britain and Northern
Ireland similar rights to those enjoyed by millions of women throughout
Europe.
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