You may have heard that earlier this month in spite of support for the service from BPAS, the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of GPs, the Royal College of Midwives, the British Medical Association, the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges, Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis and many other organisations, the Government announced that telemedical abortion will come to an end in England in six months time. This service, which allows women to have a telephone or video consultation with a qualified nurse or midwife and – where eligible – have abortion medication posted to them to use, has been available throughout the pandemic.
Telemedical abortion is a safe, effective, and accessible option for accessing abortion care in the first ten weeks of pregnancy, and means that women who struggle to attend an in-clinic appointment - because of a lack of childcare, transport issues, domestic abuse or any other reason - are able to obtain care.
When we asked Mumsnet users in January, nearly 80% of you told us you supported the retention of telemedical abortion. And now, thanks to an amendment by Baroness Liz Sugg, we have one last chance to keep this provision. On March 16th, Baroness Sugg proposed an amendment to the Health and Social Care Bill as it passed through the Lords to keep telemedical abortion in place in England. The amendment passed, which means it now goes back to the House of Commons for another vote (most probably during the w/c 28th March).
The amendment will be a free vote, which means MPs won’t be instructed how to vote by their political party - they will choose themselves whether to vote in favour of or against the amendment, or, to abstain. We know that MPs’ inboxes are filling up with emails from the anti-abortion lobby - and we want to make sure that they understand the strength of feeling amongst women in favour of keeping this provision. So we’re asking Mumsnet users to contact their MP and encourage them to vote in favour of the amendment.
Here’s how you do that:
- Find your MP's contact details here.
- Write them an email about why you care about this issue, and why you want them to vote for the amendment. You can use the template we have provided below, but if you have time please consider personalising your message - it will make it more effective!
- Tweet and tag your MP (and @MumsnetTowers) in some of the graphics on our twitter page with the hashtag #KeepTelemedicalAbortion. You can copy and paste the images. We'll be retweeting!
Let’s mobilise the power of Mumsnet and help retain what has been a real step forward for women’s reproductive rights.
p.s. If you’d like to support our campaigning work, sign up to Mumsnet Premium here. Sign up to the campaigns mailing list here.
TEMPLATE EMAIL
Subject: Please vote FOR retaining telemedical abortion in the Health and Care Bill
Dear [YOUR MP’s NAME]
I’m emailing as your constituent about the upcoming vote in the House of Commons on an amendment by Baroness Liz Sugg to the Health and Care Bill to support the retention of telemedical abortion.
The largest study of telemedical abortion in the world found that telemedicine is safe, effective, and improves care, and in a Mumsnet poll of more than 8,000 users in January 2022, more than 77% of users said they were in favour of retaining this service. Telemedical abortion means that women who struggle to attend an in-clinic appointment - because of a lack of childcare, transport issues, employment or any other reason - are able to obtain safe, timely and effective care. It also provides an accessible way for women in abusive and controlling relationships to access abortion care
Removing the provision of telemedical abortion would be a backwards step for women’s health and reproductive choice. It must be retained. Please vote for Baroness Liz Sugg’s amendment.
Best wishes
[YOUR NAME]
