Think that abortion is accessible for all UK women? Guess again. And then please take two minutes to speak up for Northern Irish women by asking your MP to stop them being treated as second class citizens in the 21st century when it comes to their reproductive rights.
It's 50 years since the 1967 Act was passed, and legislation brought which gives women reproductive rights- except if they live in Northern Ireland. There abortion is illegal in all but the most exceptional of circumstances. Specifically, abortion is not currently permitted due to the pregnancy being the result of rape, nor in cases of fatal fetal anomaly – where the baby has no chance of surviving outside the womb.
As a result, in 2016, 724 women from Northern Ireland travelled to England for abortion care. Yet despite being UK citizens, and UK taxpayers, these women were not entitled to NHS-funded treatment, and as a result would have had to pay between £400 to upwards of £1400 for a medical procedure which is fully funded for all other UK residents. This is in addition to the cost of travel, childcare, and potentially taking unpaid time off work. Because of the expense, many women from Northern Ireland travel alone, on what is often an incredibly difficult day, without the support of their partner, mother, or friends.
Women who use the services of UK-based charity, Abortion Support Network, have been driven to drastic steps in order to afford to travel. These included selling their children’s Christmas presents, rationing food for the family, asking the man who raped them for a loan, selling their car, failing to pay the rent, going to disreputable money-lenders, and avoiding paying utility bills. Others end up falsely giving an English address, buying abortion pills illegally online, or even attempting an illegal abortion themselves.
This month Jeremy Hunt, our UK Health Secretary, fought and won a court case on his right to continue to refuse to allow Northern Irish women to have an abortion on the NHS if they come to England and Wales, claiming he was doing so out of "respect" for the Northern Ireland Assembly. Thus, as the dissenting Judge in the court highlighted, if a Northern Irish woman comes to London and requires an appendectomy, she is given one on the NHS free of charge; but if she needs an abortion, she has to pay. This is in stark contrast to our efforts as a country to help women in other nations access reproductive services. Our Department for International Development states: "Women and adolescent girls must have the right to make their own decisions about their sexual and reproductive health and well-being, and be able to choose whether, when and how many children to have." To that end, the UK government has spent £3m over 4 years on supporting this aim.
This campaign isn't about reproductive services in a developing nation - or the decisions of the Northern Ireland Assembly. It's about what is happening at your local hospital - where vulnerable women in need are being denied access to a service their taxes pay for simply because of their postcode. And however hard the Government try to blame Northern Irish politicians for this, what happens in English and Welsh hospitals is a matter for English and Welsh politicians.
To make this change now isn't to give up on securing access for Northern Irish women to abortion services in their home nation as well. Nor is it to incur substantial cost to the NHS. Indeed, the cost of providing terminations safely and legally to these women annually is estimated to be around £350,500. As this case will now go to the European Court of Human Rights, it's entirely possible that the taxpayers' money Jeremy Hunt could spend on court fees could exceed the cost of offering such a service.
The Government have now entered into a formal agreement with the DUP to keep themselves in power - a Northern Irish political party implacably opposed to the rights of Northern Irish women to access abortion services. The DUP also have form when it comes to seeking to restrict the rights of residents of other nations in the UK – including trying to stop Scotland from granting Northern Irish citizens the right to have their civil partnerships converted into marriages. Unless Jeremy Hunt changes his mind, decisions made in Belfast will continue to affect the choices open to UK citizens in Bath, Barnsley or Bangor.
The chances of overturning this decision depend upon MPs speaking up to show that we will not let equality be the casualty of Theresa May’s desperate deal to stay in Downing Street. I have tabled an amendment to the Queen’s Speech on this issue which MPs can vote on this week – to ask your MP to commit to action and support this campaign please click here or follow the tag #mypledgeherchoice. We can together send a message the women of Northern Ireland should not pay the price of keeping Theresa May in power.