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Northern Irish women win access to free abortions as May averts rebellion Northern Irish women win access to free abortions as May averts rebellion
(about 1 hour later)
The government has announced a major concession to give Northern Irish women access to terminations on the NHS in Great Britain, in an attempt to head off a damaging Tory rebellion at a vote on the Queen’s speech. A decades-long struggle to give Northern Irish women access to terminations on the NHS in mainland Britain was unexpectedly won in the space of 24 hours on Thursday, as the UK government dramatically changed its policy in an attempt to head off a damaging Tory rebellion on the Queen’s speech.
Dozens of Conservative MPs were understood to have expressed to Tory whips their support for an amendment by the Labour MP Stella Creasy to allow Northern Irish women access to NHS-funded abortions in Great Britain. It was due to be voted on this afternoon. Dozens of Conservative MPs were understood to have expressed to Tory whips their support for an amendment by the Labour MP Stella Creasy to allow Northern Irish women access to NHS-funded abortions in Great Britain.
And Philip Hammond told the Commons that the government would fund abortions in England for women from Northern Ireland.
Women from Northern Ireland are currently charged about £900 for a termination if they travel to have the procedure in mainland Britain, a policy upheld by a supreme court case earlier this month. Northern Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe and it is almost impossible for a women to have an abortion legally there.Women from Northern Ireland are currently charged about £900 for a termination if they travel to have the procedure in mainland Britain, a policy upheld by a supreme court case earlier this month. Northern Ireland has some of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe and it is almost impossible for a women to have an abortion legally there.
In a letter to MPs outlining the new funding, the education secretary and equalities minister, Justine Greening, hinted she had personal sympathy with the issue. She wrote: “As minister for women and equalities, I share the concerns of many colleagues about the experience of women from Northern Ireland obtaining an abortion through the NHS in England.” Ahead of the vote on Queen’s speech, business secretary Greg Clark said the government had listened to the concerns, praising Creasy. “She has brought to the House an injustice – and we will put that injustice right,” he said. “We can be united in protecting the rights she correctly defends.”
She added: “At present women from Northern Ireland are asked for payment and from now on it is our proposal that this will no longer happen. This is clearly a sensitive issue and one which has direct implications for equality in treatment of women from Northern Ireland.” In the end, no government defeat was necessary. Creasy withdrew her amendment claiming victory. “I’m delighted at today’s announcement and satisfied by the commitments she has given,” Creasy said, as education secretary and equalities minister Justine Greening looked on smiling. “Let us send a message to women everywhere that in this parliament their voices will be heard and their rights upheld,” she said, to cheers from both sides.
Greening said that the Equalities Office would fund the payments for the terminations with additional funding for health services. “This will mean no English health service user is disadvantaged as a result of this change,” she wrote. “Funding for the services will be made available through the government Equalities Office, allowing the Department of Health to commission services in England for those from Northern Ireland. The Department of Health had previously defended its policy not to fund abortions for Northern Irish women in England, arguing in court that to do so would undermine Stormont.
“The supreme court judgment made clear that we have the power to make these arrangements. The government’s position continues to be that we want to see safe abortion services provided for women who may need them – within the bounds of the law.” However, the mood suddenly shifted in Westminster almost overnight when the case and Creasy’s subsequent amendment caught MPs attention. The result was a full capitulation from the government over the course of a single morning, after Creasy’s amendment was selected by the Speaker for a vote, the first illustration of the new power of motivated backbench MPs in the hung parliament.
On Thursday morning, the leader of the house, Andrea Leadsom, had signalled a concession was imminent, telling MPs the Department of Health and the Equalities Office were discussing the issue. MPs from across the parties had begun to express concern last week that the deal with Northern Ireland’s Democratic Unionists might implicitly tie the government’s hands against a future change.
The Creasy amendment to the Queen’s speech, which would force a change in the law if carried, was selected by the Speaker to be put to a vote on Thursday afternoon. One-by-one in Queen’s Speech debates over the past week, influential Conservative MPs stood up to back a change of direction, former cabinet ministers Nicky Morgan and Maria Miller as well as former minister Anna Soubry. In answers to questions from MPs, both home secretary Amber Rudd and leader of the House Andrea Leadsom gave strong hints they wanted to see the policy reversed.
The proposed amendment came as three appeal court judges in Belfast have refused to change the law in Northern Ireland to allow for abortion in cases where a woman is pregnant through rape or where the pregnancy is doomed due to fatal foetal abnormality. Other Tory backbenchers were also publicly supportive, Sir Peter Bottomley signed Creasy’s amendment and Dan Poulter signed a letter to Hunt. Many more spoke to their whips, urging a change of heart.
The court said abortion reform should be left to the Stormont assembly, as it ruled that the law was compatible with existing provision. In a letter to MPs on Thursday outlining the new funding for abortion provision, Greening hinted she had personal sympathy with the issue. She wrote: “As minister for women and equalities, I share the concerns of many colleagues about the experience of women from Northern Ireland obtaining an abortion through the NHS in England.”
It said the complex moral and religious questions behind the issue should be determined by a legislature rather than a court. She added: “At present, women from Northern Ireland are asked for payment and from now on it is our proposal that this will no longer happen. This is clearly a sensitive issue and one which has direct implications for equality in treatment of women from Northern Ireland.”
The judgment overturns a previous one by Mr Justice Horner, who ruled 18 months ago that the ban on abortion in cases of rape and fatal foetal abnormality was incompatible with the European convention on human rights. Greening said that the Equalities Office would fund the payments for the terminations with additional funding for health services. “This will mean no English health service user is disadvantaged as a result of this change,” she wrote.
The former Conservative equalities minister Maria Miller had expressed her concern in the Commons. “It’s wrong that women in Northern Ireland don’t have the same access to abortion as women in England, Wales and Scotland,” Miller said. “When will the government be making a statement to show how this wrong will be put right?” “Funding for the services will be made available through the government Equalities Office, allowing the Department of Health to commission services in England for those from Northern Ireland. The supreme court judgment made clear that we have the power to make these arrangements. The government’s position continues to be that we want to see safe abortion services provided for women who may need them – within the bounds of the law.”
Leadsom said she was pro-choice, calling the abortion funding “an incredibly sensitive and important” issue. “To be very clear, it is my personal view that every woman should have the right to decide what happens to her own body. That is very clear,” she said. On Thursday morning, Leadsom had signalled a concession was imminent. The leader of the house said she was pro-choice, calling the abortion funding “an incredibly sensitive and important” issue. “To be very clear, it is my personal view that every woman should have the right to decide what happens to her own body. That is very clear,” she said.
It was understood Labour whips would not instruct the party’s MPs to vote in favour of the Creasy amendment, but would allow a free vote because abortion is considered a conscience issue. In the debate the previous day, Rudd told Soubry the government was “absolutely committed to healthcare for women, and that includes access to terminations”.
The amendment was signed by more than 100 MPs across the House of Commons, including the Conservative MP Peter Bottomley, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National party MPs and the Green party co-leader Caroline Lucas.
“Parliament has an opportunity today to turn concern about inequality into real action for change. For too long our Northern Irish women have been denied a basic right,” Creasy said. “Members across the house have told me they agree this is wrong. Today is our time to end this injustice.”
Conservative MPs who sympathised with the amendment faced a dilemma, as many would have been unwilling to vote for an opposition Queen’s speech amendment that would signal no confidence in the government.Conservative MPs who sympathised with the amendment faced a dilemma, as many would have been unwilling to vote for an opposition Queen’s speech amendment that would signal no confidence in the government.
In the Queen’s speech debate on Wednesday, the health secretary, Jeremy Hunt, said there was a consultation about the change – which MPs later said they had not been informed about. “I agree that all women, in all parts of the United Kingdom, should have the same rights to access healthcare,” he said. Creasy’s amendment had signed by more than 100 MPs across the House of Commons, including the Conservative MP Peter Bottomley, Liberal Democrats, Scottish National party MPs and the Green party co-leader Caroline Lucas.
“I note that a consultation on this matter is about to happen. The most important thing is that the voices of the women of Northern Ireland are listened to in that consultation.” The selection of the amendment by the Speaker for the vote in the Commons on Thursday evening and the real prospect of a damaging defeat at an already febrile time for the government forced drastic action. Greening’s department took charge, in negotiations with Jeremy Hunt at the Department of Health. Hunt has historically favoured tighter restrictions on abortions, previously suggesting the legal time limit be halved from 24 to 12 weeks.
However, the DH said afterwards it was still trying to clarify exactly what consultation Hunt was referring to. Though DUP MPs were planning to vote against the amendment, privately the Guardian understands MPs did not make it an issue in confidence-and-supply talks with Downing Street. In a pointed intervention on Wednesday during the Queen’s speech debate, the DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr said: “I think it is important the house recognises this is not a matter for Belfast. This is a matter for NHS England.”
MPs from across the house raised concerns that the government might have a tacit understanding with the Democratic Unionist party not to change the law in England because of the Conservatives’ supply and confidence agreement with the Northern Irish party. A Downing Street spokeswoman said change would cost an estimated £1m a year, based on numbers of women travelling for abortions in previous years. The government was committed to funding the excess if demand increased, a spokesman said.
But the Guardian understands DUP MPs were unhappy at this suggestion and did not appreciate being subtly painted as an obstacle to the policy change. Asked if the government was simply trying to avoid a defeat on Creasy’s amendment, the spokeswoman said: “Justine Greening has set out the reasons behind this. The ministers had concerns about the issue, it’s why we’re taking action. The Supreme court ruling provided important clarity and now the decision has been made to do something about it.”
In a pointed intervention on Wednesday during the Queen’s speech debate, the DUP MP Ian Paisley Jr said: “I think it is important the house recognises this is not a matter for Belfast. This is a matter for NHS England.” Campaigners in Northern Ireland have welcomed the decision but warned poorer women will still be disadvantaged because of the costs of travelling to the British mainland.
The home secretary, Amber Rudd, signalled on Thursday she was sympathetic to the calls for change, in response to a question from the Tory MP Anna Soubry, who said there was “much concern on both sides of the house about the situation pertaining to women who live in Northern Ireland who seek terminations”. “It isn’t our intention at the moment to cover travel costs,” a Downing Street spokesman said.
Rudd said Soubry was “absolutely right … We are absolutely committed to healthcare for women, and that includes access to terminations.” Mara Clarke, director of the Abortion Support Network, which offers financial assistance to women in need of abortions said: “This is an incredible step forward. Anyone travelling for an abortion will save a minimum of £330, thanks to today’s announcement. However, they will still have to pay for flights and accommodation, childcare and time off work.
Three Tory MPs also signed a letter to Hunt calling on him to end the charges. They were the former cabinet minister Nicky Morgan, Dan Poulter and Bottomley. “And there will always be women who cannot travel. Women who don’t have someone who can watch existing children, or women made pregnant by controlling or violent partners. And no one should have to travel. We rejoice today – but the work will still be here tomorrow.”
Hunt has historically favoured tighter restrictions on abortions, previously suggesting the legal time limit be halved from 24 to 12 weeks. The letter to Hunt is also signed by the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, the Royal College of Midwives and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, as well as the Fawcett Society and Amnesty International. The stark gap between the abortion rights in Northern Ireland and the mainland highlighted by campaigners was underlined by the decision that same day by three appeal court judges in Belfast ruled against a change the law in Northern Ireland to allow for abortion in cases where a woman is pregnant through rape or where the pregnancy is doomed due to fatal foetal abnormality.
At least three other Tory MPs were known to have made private representations to Hunt or Conservative whips on the issue. One Conservative MP, who has not publicly voiced their concerns, told the Guardian: “None of us are going to vote for amendments to the Queen’s speech for very obvious reasons, but quite a lot are saying to the whips this is weird, it’s silly, it’s not something we should get into a fight over.” The court said abortion reform should be left to the Stormont assembly, as it ruled that the law was compatible with existing provision. It said the complex moral and religious questions behind the issue should be determined by a legislature rather than a court.
The judgment overturns a previous one by Mr Justice Horner, who ruled 18 months ago that the ban on abortion in cases of rape and fatal foetal abnormality was incompatible with the European convention on human rights.