Abortion decriminalisation - how the far right will use it?

[Movingdream]

I think the parliament made the right decision yesterday to decriminalise abortion. This means women won’t be investigated for late miscarriages and stillbirths, which must just feel like one trauma after another.

The 24 week limit remains in place and you would still only see doctors performing later abortions due to medical issues. As people on here know, the vast majority of abortions take place before 12 weeks and the few that don’t, normally are performed due to a medical issue for mother or baby. After 24 weeks, a woman would have to self induce an abortion for non medical reasons as doctors wouldn’t perform it, which would pretty much be labour, how would a woman even do this?

But ‘the UK has legalised abortion up until birth’ is the soundbite I keep seeing from the fundamentalist right wing types. This isn’t true. It worries me though because they’ll run with it and I’m concerned things swing the other way.

Absolutely. The intention wasn’t there when the medication was approved. There’s very little on the consequences of telemedicine which we only have due to a novel event.

What is the process in those countries?

On googling one has

The process of having an abortion

The health professionals at the service you attend will need to ensure you are fully informed about:

the procedure
the risks
pain relief for medication abortion
anaesthesia options for surgical abortion
pre- and post-abortion support.

So not the same access to here? That’s Victoria, Aus

It’s the access that’s different

This legistlation will bring the rest of the UK to where NI is. In NI abortion is already decriminalised.

The hyperbole around this legistlation is ignorant and misogynist.

I would imagine the head of the professional body would have insight, much more so than any posters. Presumably also statistics but he was hardly going to go into them in a 5 minute interview, shared by a person with an opposing view.

Australia has abortion by telehealth up to 9 weeks, so similar to UK 10 weeks limit. But it seems an ultrasound is required.

https://www.msiaustralia.org.au/abortion-by-telehealth-services/

So yes, different process. But still decriminalised, which was my point.

It’s not ‘ignorant’ nor misogynist to look at why we’re here and the initial process set up with medication and in person support. As other countries have.

@TooBigForMyBoots Pills by post are not and have never been available in NI though. I do not agree that it is misogynist to query how the law will be enforced in the absence of criminal sanction.

Are we the only country with this set up do you know?

Someone mentioned Aus and I’ve put the process below.

Not sure @EasternStandard
I do feel this is something that should have been considered in the HoC debate.

Ok so much better guardrails than here which is the point.

The issue is the process and access, it wasn’t intended at set up and so far no other country has been identified as having a system without a process that prevents late term use.

I wholeheartedly agree with this.
My generation fought for true equality between the sexes, not what we have now, which is a situation where no woman is ever responsible for anything negative, ever.
I read on this on here a few weeks ago and it has stayed with me: Every woman in prison in the UK is there because of a man.
Women are responsible for their own actions just the way men are - I don't want special treatment, justification and excuses made for my sex, thanks.
I can look after myself and don't need the massive industry that has built up justifying everything women do and blaming men for all that is bad in the world.
There are weak women the same as there are weak men. The latter would be told they need to step up and grow a pair. As should the former.

The problem has never been the fact some women will seek very late abortions. Some will. Just like some women are cold hearted murderers.

The change in law came for another reason. And it’s to protect all the women who ended up in prison (preventively), who has their chikdren out into care months if not years. All that fur 3 women to have been found guilty of unlawful abortions.
This change is about recognising the hurt the curent law was doing on innocent women and their children.

You migut want a law to condemn those women seeking very late abortions. But do you really want a law that will apply to about so very few people? Do you want a law that it’ll carry on harming many many more women at the same time?
Theres a reason why the gynaecologists body asked for the change. They saw the impact first hand.
So shall we talked about those women whose life was shattered because of an antiquated law instead? Shall we talk about the children that ended up in foster care? And the life long impact it has had in them (and I’m sure they won’t have hit a support to recover from that either. It was ‘for their own good’ you see. They should be grateful) Because so far these are victims that we know well. And there are many of them around.

I'm pretty anti-abortion and I don't think there's a snowball's chance in hell of the UK increasing restrictions. That's just a bogeyman. Nor do I think the nearest we have to a 'Far Right' political party (Reform) is going to die on that particular hill. Farage didn't even bother to vote. If anything I think there will be further liberalisation. Prioritising individual bodily autonomy over other ethical considerations logically implies offering abortion up to birth.
I expect we'll move that way over the next decade or two.

I think by the time of the next election this will be a non-issue for most people. Like gay marriage is a non-issue for most people despite all the hand wringing that went on at the time.

Neither of these were problems for decades. If the letter of the law had been followed, incidents like this would never happen. I do worry that vulnerable women later in pregnancy will now be coerced into illegal abortions they don’t want on the grounds that it is not illegal.

Why do you want to remove all process to support women and just have accessible tele medication? We’re the only ones it seems to want this.

Other countries determine term stage first and have healthcare interaction. Eg in pp re Aus. Sounds like a good balance.

All medicine should have the right level of access controls related to the risk of that medication.

What would you say is right level for this?

Initially there were controls and we’re only here due to Covid which wasn’t a planned part of this medication access.

Other countries seem to have not just allowed access without support.