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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jun/29/northern-ireland-women-abortion-amendment-access
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| The government’s abortion commitment is good news. But it’s not enough | The government’s abortion commitment is good news. But it’s not enough |
| (7 months later) | |
| Thu 29 Jun 2017 18.58 BST | |
| Last modified on Wed 20 Sep 2017 19.03 BST | |
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| Abortion for women in Northern Ireland has become a high stakes issue in British politics for perhaps the first time ever, potentially exposing the first faultlines in the young Tory-DUP agreement to maintain a weakened Conservative government. Following Stella Creasy’s attempt to amend the Queen’s speech, the government has offered a new commitment to fund abortions for Northern Irish women on the NHS in England and Wales. It’s a welcome step and will potentially have an immediate impact on widening access to basic healthcare for UK citizens who have long been denied this right. | Abortion for women in Northern Ireland has become a high stakes issue in British politics for perhaps the first time ever, potentially exposing the first faultlines in the young Tory-DUP agreement to maintain a weakened Conservative government. Following Stella Creasy’s attempt to amend the Queen’s speech, the government has offered a new commitment to fund abortions for Northern Irish women on the NHS in England and Wales. It’s a welcome step and will potentially have an immediate impact on widening access to basic healthcare for UK citizens who have long been denied this right. |
| This will surely reduce the financial burden for women travelling from Northern Ireland for terminations they cannot obtain at home, but it does not erase this burden entirely, and nor does it address the emotional trauma of being forced to access basic healthcare far from home. This change will not help the most vulnerable, who will still be unable to travel: women suffering from domestic abuse; those of insecure asylum or immigration status; and working-class women for whom travel to and accommodation in England are financially impossible. | This will surely reduce the financial burden for women travelling from Northern Ireland for terminations they cannot obtain at home, but it does not erase this burden entirely, and nor does it address the emotional trauma of being forced to access basic healthcare far from home. This change will not help the most vulnerable, who will still be unable to travel: women suffering from domestic abuse; those of insecure asylum or immigration status; and working-class women for whom travel to and accommodation in England are financially impossible. |
| It is however a huge step forward, particularly coming on the same day when the high court in Belfast rejected an earlier judgment saying Northern Ireland’s abortion laws contravened human rights. The high court said that it is up to the devolved Northern Ireland assembly at Stormont, not the court, to determine law in this area for Northern Ireland. For decades they have shirked this responsibility, forcing hundreds of women to travel away for terminations. | It is however a huge step forward, particularly coming on the same day when the high court in Belfast rejected an earlier judgment saying Northern Ireland’s abortion laws contravened human rights. The high court said that it is up to the devolved Northern Ireland assembly at Stormont, not the court, to determine law in this area for Northern Ireland. For decades they have shirked this responsibility, forcing hundreds of women to travel away for terminations. |
| And it’s a stunning reversal of its own health secretary’s long-standing policy. Just a few weeks ago, the supreme court upheld Jeremy Hunt’s policy of enforcing charges for Northern Irish women procuring abortions in England and Wales. Now we are hearing that Hunt and many of his conservative colleagues, including equalities minister Justine Greening who sent the letter outlining the government’s change in policy, have always wanted equal treatment for Northern Irish women on the NHS. Why then, has it taken them so long to find their voice? Could the outcry over the nascent partnership with the ultra-conservative DUP finally have roused both Tory backbenchers and Labour party stalwarts to action? | And it’s a stunning reversal of its own health secretary’s long-standing policy. Just a few weeks ago, the supreme court upheld Jeremy Hunt’s policy of enforcing charges for Northern Irish women procuring abortions in England and Wales. Now we are hearing that Hunt and many of his conservative colleagues, including equalities minister Justine Greening who sent the letter outlining the government’s change in policy, have always wanted equal treatment for Northern Irish women on the NHS. Why then, has it taken them so long to find their voice? Could the outcry over the nascent partnership with the ultra-conservative DUP finally have roused both Tory backbenchers and Labour party stalwarts to action? |
| The devil is in the detail, however, as Labour MP Creasy pointed out this morning. Greening has indicated that funding for the new policy will come from the government equalities office rather than the NHS, so that “no English service user is disadvantaged as a result of this change”. Women in Northern Ireland have yet to see how this widening of access will work and what pathway they will have to navigate now. | The devil is in the detail, however, as Labour MP Creasy pointed out this morning. Greening has indicated that funding for the new policy will come from the government equalities office rather than the NHS, so that “no English service user is disadvantaged as a result of this change”. Women in Northern Ireland have yet to see how this widening of access will work and what pathway they will have to navigate now. |
| Still unaddressed is the emotional trauma of being forced to access basic healthcare far from home | Still unaddressed is the emotional trauma of being forced to access basic healthcare far from home |
| It is also worth noting that the 1967 Act is still restrictive in terms of access, as it requires women to convince a doctor that continuing with the pregnancy would be detrimental to their health or wellbeing. Just two days ago, the British Medical Association voted for full decriminalisation of abortion up to 24 weeks. This is also what reproductive rights campaigners have been lobbying for, and is ultimately what the government should adopt for women across the whole of the UK (including Northern Ireland). | It is also worth noting that the 1967 Act is still restrictive in terms of access, as it requires women to convince a doctor that continuing with the pregnancy would be detrimental to their health or wellbeing. Just two days ago, the British Medical Association voted for full decriminalisation of abortion up to 24 weeks. This is also what reproductive rights campaigners have been lobbying for, and is ultimately what the government should adopt for women across the whole of the UK (including Northern Ireland). |
| There is also the potential for this move to further remove the onus on the Northern Ireland assembly to legislate on abortion law. For decades, politicians in Northern Ireland have been able to kick this inconvenient can down the road while women were able to access abortion elsewhere in the UK, despite the enormous cost in terms of Northern Irish women’s financial and emotional wellbeing. As one leading campaigner told me this morning, this new move could “potentially entrench the exportation of abortion from Northern Ireland to England and Wales,” further removing responsibility from our local political leaders. | There is also the potential for this move to further remove the onus on the Northern Ireland assembly to legislate on abortion law. For decades, politicians in Northern Ireland have been able to kick this inconvenient can down the road while women were able to access abortion elsewhere in the UK, despite the enormous cost in terms of Northern Irish women’s financial and emotional wellbeing. As one leading campaigner told me this morning, this new move could “potentially entrench the exportation of abortion from Northern Ireland to England and Wales,” further removing responsibility from our local political leaders. |
| It seems in any jurisdiction, we are in the hands of politicians. | It seems in any jurisdiction, we are in the hands of politicians. |
| Widening access to abortion is crucial. It is what campaigners from Northern Ireland – and other places around the world where this basic right is restricted – have been crying for decades. Our voice is finally being heard in the top echelons of British politics, and we will not stop shouting until all women across the UK have free, safe and legal access to abortion when they decide they need it. | Widening access to abortion is crucial. It is what campaigners from Northern Ireland – and other places around the world where this basic right is restricted – have been crying for decades. Our voice is finally being heard in the top echelons of British politics, and we will not stop shouting until all women across the UK have free, safe and legal access to abortion when they decide they need it. |
| Abortion | |
| Opinion | |
| Northern Ireland | |
| Health | |
| Women | |
| Democratic Unionist party (DUP) | |
| comment | |
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