To remind you about NI

[NowforNI]

There’s been a lot of discussion (and condemnation) on these threads about abortion laws in Alabama.

We still don’t have safe, legal abortion in all of the UK. 28 women a week have to travel from Northern Ireland to the mainland because they do not have access to the same medical services as women in the rest of the UK, despite paying for the NHS through taxation.

Women’s reproductive rights and autonomy over their own bodies are worth fighting for - please consider emailing your MP to keep this on the agenda.

Thank you!

nowforni.uk/#email

PS I’m not formally linked to the Now for NI campaign, I just think it’s bloody important

@AndNoneForGretchenWiener
Yes funding comes from Westminster the money Scotland receives is to run Scotland's NHS, Education and social services etc, the same as NI get's a budget to use for your country, Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government WOULD FUND free abortions for NI women that's money that should be getting used for Scotland, to my knowledge in the past year 43 women from NI have come here to have an abortion, it cost's just over £2,000 per abortion plus travel cost and accommodation, that's amount's to over £86,000 which is a hell of a lot money, when everything is getting cut we're in no position to be given away freebie's to another UK country, if they need an abortion outwith there own country they should pay, the same as the rest of us have to do when going to another country for treatment.

@AndNoneForGretchenWieners
Sorry £2,000 all in

Those vile politician's in NI who won't allow an abortion for rape or incest are totally disgusting, in those cases women should be allowed an abortion and perpetrator responsible should pay for the abortion

I've done the email and posted it to Facebook as well asking people to share. Maybe we can use the awful loss of rights in Alabama to spur the UK into action finally. There's nothing quite like a bad example for showing the right way. Is there a petition as well to force discussion in parliament? (Sorry, I couldn't find one.)

happy hillock your attitude scares me. Do you feel the same about refugees receiving access to schools and health services too?

The devolved budget in Scotland is £33.18 billion, so your calculation of £86000 spent on abortions for NI women is 0.00000260606% . However, I suspect most of those women used BPAS or Marie Stopes services rather than NHS, due to the quicker turnaround. Plus your calculation seems wildly over. Abortion prices as of April 2009 are on the table below.
In Scotland £1500 MORE is spent per person than the average UK spend per head, so I don't think those 43 women are taking bread from your children's mouths to be honest.

Also, how do you feel about foreign aid, hillock?

Do you think the taxes you pay should be spent only on your family?

I'm utterly bemused by you. I'm happy to say I have never come across anyone who thinks like that irl. Thankfully.

Is there a petition to have it debated in parliament?

There has been, it was rejected, because Westminster are claiming it isn't their problem. Which should be true, if it wasn't for the impasse in Stormont.

So what should people do?

Going backwards on women's rights is more shocking than staying still.

Alabama and some other states have tried to go backwards, but these laws are unconstitutional and cannot be enforced at present. The concern is that, with more recent conservative justices appointed to the Supreme Court, it will validate some of them at some point in the future, but that is some years away.

Do you think if there was a referendum that it might be voted through?

Who or what do you think is the greatest block to having abortion legalised?

Is there a majority in favour of it?

Do you have a link to an article about the debate in parliament?

Firstly, I'm not Northern Irish, so I don't know the answer to some of your questions, Irulez
I'm English and live in England. But I have written to my MP and encourage offers to do so. It's about time that the rest of us in the UK supported the Northern Irish population and educated ourselves.

There was no debate, the petition was rejected before it reached that stage.

Fwiw, I don't think going backwards is any more shocking than things having always been this way. A country which stones women for adultery is as much of a human rights issue as a country which legislates to do so tomorrow.

My MP sent me a (presumably prepared) response that was lengthy but basically said the government won't touch it as it has to be decided by NI only. I'm impressed that he replied within 6 hours, but it's sad that he obviously won't take it further.

So what can we do?

@MRex Did your MP mention a means for it to be addressed by NI?

Nope. This is what he said in full...

Thank you for getting in touch and for sharing your thoughts on abortion legislation with me. I very much note your comments, and strongly agree that women should retain the right to chose.

FYI only, I have copied below the most recent information issued by the Northern Ireland Office about abortion:

'Abortion remains a highly sensitive issue, regardless of where your view lies and one where it is important that the matter is considered with due care and sensitivity.
The Government believes that any future reform in Northern Ireland must be debated and decided by the people of Northern Ireland and their locally-elected politicians. This has been the position of successive Governments, both Conservative and Labour. The Government will keep its position under review in light of the UK Government's legal obligations, and in light of any relevant emerging legal judgments, as appropriate.
Restoring the Executive remains the Secretary of State's key priority and she has said that she will continue to work closely with Northern Ireland's political parties to restore strong, inclusive devolved government at the earliest opportunity.'

Ok, so what is stopping them having a government in place?

I don't see how there could be a legal test case, because it would take too long to get to court, nobody would want to wait any more than they would want the publicity. Unless they wait for the NI Savita Halappanavar, leave a woman to die before they give NI women equal rights to the rest of the UK.

@Irulez - because the DUP and Sinn Fein can't cooperate; here's a relatively recent article: www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/northern-ireland-talks-latest-power-sharing-deal-stormont-sinn-fein-dup-a8893096.html

I signed the template letter to my MP, but a PP mentioned there is a law from the 1800s which, if repealled, would automatically give abortion rights to women in Northern Ireland. Perhaps the strategy needs to be changed to repeal that law for England and Wales(?) if that's the one making it illegal to have an abortion without it being signed off by two doctors, focus on England and Wales and slide it through that it covers NI as well. If I've understood the premise of the law correctly.

I'm just thinking that given ROI's successful Repeal the 8th campaign, a campaign in this country to repeal an old law, rather than to create a new one, might get more traction. But I may be talking rubbish.

Just read your link, thanks

"This arrangement has largely weathered a decade of politics, but in November 2016 a scandal emerged surrounding a Renewable Heat Incentive (also referred to as the RHI scandal or ‘Cash for Ash’), signed off by First Minister Arlene Foster in 2012. Its mismanagement had cost the Northern Ireland Executive £480m.

Sinn Féin called for Ms Foster to stand aside from her position to allow for an independent inquiry into the scandal, but she refused.

Having served as Deputy First Minister for ten years, Mr McGuinness then resigned in January 2017 and Sinn Féin announced they would not be replacing him. This stripped Ms Foster of her title as First Minister and collapsed the executive."

And this woman is still in politics?

Lol.

I think the politics of NI is peculiar and there's nothing anyone can do.