We need you! Lobby your MP for the last chance to retain the right to telemedical abortion.

[JuliaMumsnet]

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:

1. Find your MP's contact details here.
2. 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!
3. 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]

But the children of women being coerced/ forced/ pressured aren't unwanted by the mother !?

Of course they aren't unwanted. Nobody has said that. But as I have said before, there is a choice here and there is no perfect option. Do we block telemedicine, thereby preventing women from being coerced into abortion via this route and thereby seeing babies being born into households where there is abuse, or do we protect women who do not want their pregnancies by retaining the telemedicine option?

The research is showing that women want this option. Why support denying them another opportunity to take responsibility and make their own choices?

Sent it. If we can’t access abortion to control our own bodies, we will always be second class citizens.

Delighted to have received this from our MP who always ties the Tory party line…

‘Thank you for your email of the 24th March, which I have drawn to Sir Paul’s attention. We do not yet know if the amendment from Baroness Sugg will be selected when the Bill returns to the Commons this week – if it is selected though – Sir Paul will be supporting it.’

I find that encouraging!

*toes the Tory party line
I’m hopeful that means most Tories will be voting to support the amendment.

@NotDonna, do you not have any concerns r.e. vulnerable women being pressured/ forced into termination via this method that have been highlighted in my posts above ?

@chattycaterpillar not enough to warrant overriding all other women, no.

I prioritise women being able to prevent babies being born into abusive households over women coerced into termination. That’s horrible to write.

@NotDonna

I prioritise women being able to prevent babies being born into abusive households over women coerced into termination. That’s horrible to write.

NotDonna I feel the same way. Having a baby means you are less likely to escape the relationship successfully. That leaves a baby being brought up in a household where there is abuse. There are no good choices here and no perfect answers, we all have to choose where we stand, but given that the numbers are pretty much even, with slightly more women being coerced into keeping a pregnancy they do not want, giving more women a better chance of escape is the least bad option.

[quote chattycaterpillar]**@NotDonna, do you not have any concerns r.e. vulnerable women being pressured/ forced into termination via this method that have been highlighted in my posts above ?[/quote]
Do you not have any concern for vulnerable women being pressured/forced into keeping a pregnancy they don’t want?

I think most posters here have addressed the coercion concern tbh. Women can unfortunately be coerced either way, so whether way this decision goes there will be vulnerable women poorer for it. So then the question is who, on balance, should be the priority? Which of the two choices, keeping or ending telemedical abortion, benefit women the most? According to the research done, women have benefited the most from having access to it.

The world has changed and the law needs to adapt to it. You can buy misoprostal online, a quick google will lead you to many a website offering it. Of course women that take the option because they have no others, don’t actually know what’s in the pills they’re buying. They’re unlicensed and unregistered.

It’s far better that women can access them through legitimate providers.

This is wonderful!!

Hi all,

As you may have seen, this evening the House of Commons voted FOR Baroness Sugg's amendment, meaning that telemedical abortion will remain available to women in England!

We're really grateful to everyone who took the time to write to their MP or share the campaign on Twitter. This was an against-the-odds result and it just goes to show the campaigning power of Mumsnet and its users!

Thanks,
MNHQ

Very disappointed with the result. A greenlight for men to abuse vulnerable women, women not to be given a private and safe space to disclose abuse, coercion and other safeguarding concerns, ( e.g. being a victim of trafficking), and the government cutting back on funding for women's health/ safety/ DV in the name of progress. The fact that Mumsnet, a website which is meant to help women, ( including those who are victims of DV), is celebrating this is misguided at best, and appalling at worst.

@RhiannonEMumsnet Hey. Do you happen to know of its status in Wales?

Fantastic news. Just heard the result now, I will check which way my MP voted as I didn't get a written response from them on this issue.

Excellent news. Vulnerable women in abusive relationships will continue to be able to access abortion without needing to leave their homes, giving them a better chance of leaving the relationship when they are ready to do so. And better still - people listened to the science!

The status in Wales was decided a couple of weeks ago . It was made a permanent change for Wales

This is not really about Telemedicine

It is about the law allowing women to take
mifepristone in their own home as opposed to taking it in a premises licensed for abortion
Which the clinic was and home was not

What the fuck it has to do with the Government still is beyond me

Thanks so much @RhiannonEMumsnet @JuliaMumsnet @JustineMumsnet and all who contacted MPs and spread the word.

God, what a relief. I am absolutely raging inside at the sanctimonious reply I received from my MP about this issue about their personal views, who clearly couldn’t give a shit about women. Or medical evidence from experts.

@coldfeetmama

The status in Wales was decided a couple of weeks ago . It was made a permanent change for Wales

This is not really about Telemedicine

It is about the law allowing women to take
mifepristone in their own home as opposed to taking it in a premises licensed for abortion
Which the clinic was and home was not

What the fuck it has to do with the Government still is beyond me

Excellent news. Thank you so much.

@NotDonna It's horrible to write because it's horrible. I was born into an abusive household. I still think coercion into termination is worse.

Also worth noting in the analysis of this, is that this was a conscience vote, yet the result was divided strongly on party lines.

Look at Hansard, on the ‘chart view’ tab. This shows MPs who voted No to the Sugg amendment. 93.5% of them Conservative.

Those who voted in support of telemedical abortion via the Sugg amendment were 55% Lab and then 33% Con.

I think trying to find someone to vote for who is actually pro-woman at next GE is going much more complicated than voting Conservative assuming that the Tories support women because they ‘know what a woman is’.

We will need to consider each individual candidate’s position very carefully, and not make any assumptions about them
being pro-woman or not, based on simple party lines.

hansard.parliament.uk/Commons/2022-03-30/debates/159B83EA-68DF-4A72-AFB7-189970DE9114/HealthAndCareBill#division-39769

@coldfeetmama

The status in Wales was decided a couple of weeks ago . It was made a permanent change for Wales

This is not really about Telemedicine

It is about the law allowing women to take
mifepristone in their own home as opposed to taking it in a premises licensed for abortion
Which the clinic was and home was not

What the fuck it has to do with the Government still is beyond me

@coldfeetmama to me this is completely about telemedicine.

I have zero problem with women being prescribed mifepristone to take at home, ( providing an in clinic option is available for those who would prefer medical supervision), at all.

I have a big, big problem with telemedicine preventing vulnerable women and girls from having a private, safe space to disclose coercion/ force/ pressure and abuse.

I have worked with some vey vulnerable women, ( including victims of sex trafficking), and coerced/ forced termination is a big problem.

I don't have any moral issue with mifepristone being used in the home, but have big safeguarding concerns for telemedicine and I'm really disappointed it's been made permanent, as I can see this just making the abuse of vulnerable girls and women easier.

@chattycaterpillar there are pathways to identify and support vulnerable women - some do come into clinic , some do not
All under 16's are seen face to face in clinic
Passwords and code words are used to confirm when women can and cannot talk freely

I appreciate you looking after these women .
I also safeguard women who have massively benefited from this process .

Nothing in the world is perfect as we all know some adverse events are bound to occur.

Let's start supporting the decriminalisation of abortion and continuing to support women in all we do .

Alsi @coldfeetmama, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought mifepristone to take at home was legalised in 2018 ?