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]

@Mumof3lovelygirls

I'm not anti choice. I'm pro sanctity of life. You can choose what you do but when it comes to an unborn child you should protect it as a mother should. If you don't want to then don't become a mother. Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent pregnancy. If you abstain long enough I'm sure men would start to get sterilised.

‘If you don’t want it then don’t become a mother’

Access an abortion then?

Why do you assume that women want to abstain? That it’s only men that want sex? Generally, it’s part of a healthy relationship and something both parties want to do, independent of desire for children.

You can of course believe in sanctity of life as much as you like, and you’re very free to apply it to your own life. It’s irrelevant outside of that, because women have been having abortions for as long as they’ve walked the earth, and they’ll have them regardless of your approval, or indeed legal status. It’s not a choice between abortion and no abortion, it’s a choice between legal and illegal abortion. Again, illegal abortion is one of the leading causes of death of women worldwide. That’s your ‘pro life’ reality.

My ex got sterilised, so did two of his friends when they found out that it didn't affect his 'performance'. He literally started a trend. I adamantly wasn't going on the pill to mess up my hormones. Presto, he opted for the snip.

Good news DysonSphere, men need to take responsibility too. Women enjoy sex as much as men yet it does seem to be unequal when it comes to contraception. Thank you for sticking up for the rights of unborn babies. It's not the popular or fashionable opinion nowadays...

@Mumof3lovelygirls

More women agree with us than you think. But l agree people don't speak up because being pro-life isn't 'right speak.' Only right speak is tolerable. This forum is guilty of deriding anything that's not 'right speak' more than some.

@Mumof3lovelygirls

I'm not anti choice. I'm pro sanctity of life. You can choose what you do but when it comes to an unborn child you should protect it as a mother should. If you don't want to then don't become a mother. Abstinence is the only sure way to prevent pregnancy. If you abstain long enough I'm sure men would start to get sterilised.

Yes darling, that’s the purpose of an abortion

Oh and what do you mean by ‘the unborn baby’s rights’? Foetuses don’t have any legal or human rights. They are not recognised by the law as a separate entity.

The moment you give rights to a foetus, you take them away from a living woman.

The moment you ban abortion, you sentence women to death.

A foetus is a human in an early stage of development that is living as long as it's mother allows it to. Use all the dehumanising terminology you like. A foetus is a human.

These days I think people value the foetuses of their pet animals more highly.

The ability to terminate that human should not be facilitated past a certain point. Most face to face services will be back to normal soon if they aren't already.

A fetus is alive and human. And no amount of soft soaping will change that fact.

No one who is pro choice and the rights of women would try to argue that a foetus isn't alive or that it isn't human. No need to soft soap anything, women are quite well aware of it. And yet we still get to choose what happens with our own bodies, thankfully.

@DysonSphere

A foetus is a human in an early stage of development that is living as long as it's mother allows it to. Use all the dehumanising terminology you like. A foetus is a human.

These days I think people value the foetuses of their pet animals more highly.

The ability to terminate that human should not be facilitated past a certain point. Most face to face services will be back to normal soon if they aren't already.

A foetus is effectively a parasite.

I think it’s very sad that you’re so willing to take away the rights of women in favour of a parasitic clump of cells.

I had a patient a couple of weeks ago, a very immature 15 year old girl who was in a coercive ‘relationship’ with an older man and who had become pregnant. She had had an abortion (thank fuck) and was seeing me for ongoing contraception. Should she not have had an abortion in favour of a 6 week old clump of cells? That would have been her life ruined, and the resulting baby either yet another unwanted child in the miserable care system, or with a young mother who was unable to look after it properly. This is why ‘pro-life’ cannot exist; the woman’s life is more important every single fucking time.

A foetus is a parasite

Especially more so if it's a female in some cultures.

Now where have I heard attempts to use dehumanising language to describe humans and certain activities linked to human female biology before....oh wait.

I actually accept @RoseslnTheHospital coldly pragmatic but honest assessment.

I find it interesting that you ignore the case of the very real female child that @TyrannosaurusFlex described in favour of emotive innuendos.

Of course a foetus is alive. That's biology. But it's up to its host to decide whether or not it gets to stay that way. That's choice. Nobody who is pro choice wants other women to be forced to have abortions. We just want women to be able to choose to - in a way that is safe and legal.

Because we know what banning abortion leads to: women dying. Oh, and their foetuses too. Two for one, well done to the anti choicers.

Ta Mumsnet. Signing

@DysonSphere

A foetus is a parasite

Especially more so if it's a female in some cultures.

Now where have I heard attempts to use dehumanising language to describe humans and certain activities linked to human female biology before....oh wait.

I actually accept @RoseslnTheHospital coldly pragmatic but honest assessment.

Can you use your words, please? It’s not clear what you mean. You didn’t answer my question, either. Why is a 6 week old clump of cells, sex unknown (not that it’s relevant), more important than the child I told you about?

Also, restricting access to safe, compassionate abortions won’t stop women having abortions. What it will do is make women have unsafe abortions. Would you rather a fully counselled woman took a couple of pills in the comfort of her own bathroom with full medical backup and emotional support or a desperate, unsupported woman bought unknown medicines from the internet, or used god knows what instruments to abort a foetus? The girl I told you about had her abortion at home because there is no way in hell she would have attended a clinic. She didn’t want to continue her pregnancy and she would have made sure she didn’t in one way or another.

Tell me again how you support that.

Emailed my MP, on the childcare and transport issues alone.
Woman shouldn’t have to suffer anymore than they already do

NannyGythaOgg
Unless they are prepared to leave their partners then, in my opinion, the child is deserves to not be born into an abusive situation.

What a neat little world you must live in. There are women frozen with fear of physical and mental abuse who can't even contemplate what freedom looks like, let alone step into it.

Of course there's always the alternative method like a friend whose husband kicked her several times in the stomach and she lost the baby. When she found a way to escape, I met her at the airport and she looked like a walking skeleton with bruises all over her body. I nursed her back to health.

I'm very much pro choice but can't say I'm convinced this ought to continue.
I'm very concerned at how very young girls could have this at home and nobody in their household know. There are risks with these things and I feel the "need" for this versus the wisdom is very much lost.
I'm very torn on this as a friends daughter had a very close problem like this and it's remained in my thinking ever since

When is the vote?

"A foetus is not a human being" wtf is it? A giraffe? Of course it's a human being, the argument is whether it deserves personhood on the same level as the mother, but denying it's a human being is insane.

Thanks, have emailed. I suspect my MP won't vote in favour though.

@DoubleShotEspresso

I'm very much pro choice but can't say I'm convinced this ought to continue. I'm very concerned at how very young girls could have this at home and nobody in their household know. There are risks with these things and I feel the "need" for this versus the wisdom is very much lost. I'm very torn on this as a friends daughter had a very close problem like this and it's remained in my thinking ever since

I understand your concerns , there are many Safeguarding processes in place to support vulnerable women and under 18's.

@Awwlookatmybabyspider

I'm not signing as I'm pro life. People always talk about the women's rights. Should the baby have no rights at all. As far as I'm concerned we are human beings from the split second of conception. All That said I'd never condemn any one for making that choice. (Thinking what you like is of course one thing. Saying what you like is another thing entirely). I do have zero problem in saying I don't think abortion should be used as a type of contraception.

No. A clump of cells that only exists by sucking the life from a real living woman should not have any rights or consideration.

HTH

I have emailed my mp with the letter

Staggered by the abortion debate on this thread. Abortion is legal in the uk.

Any reduction in access to safe abortion is misogyny.