THE defeat of the Corrie Bill, which was an attempt to erode the gains of the 1967 Abortion Act, was a tremendous victory for women. But there is no room for complacency.
The 1967 Abortion been fully implemented, and the grounds for abortion do not allow women the right to choose Under Thatcher the attacks on abortion rights are being stepped up.
Doctors for a Women's Abortion have pointed out the increasing difficulty for women to obtain safe, legal abortions. The cuts in the health service are just one of the problems we face.
Late abortions are extremely difficult to obtain. The charity clinics cannot atford to have ultra-sound which measures the size of the foetus. This is a reauirement for late abortions so women have to pay done at a hospital.
As the number of health service abortions declines because of the cuts, more and more women are being torced to pay extortionate prices in the private clinics. In Scotland this can be as much as £400.
While NHS facilities are run down, the charity sector which has acted as an essential safety net tor women Is sub jected to continual harassment. rules and regulations can result in clinics being shut down by the Department of Health and Social Security. Act has never A recent Choice on particularly difficult.
equipment, race every day f10 to get this tary session.
Petty Charities are now required to record the time of payment for an abortion, as well as the date on which it was carried out. They have wasted money printing posters, which they are often required to change. They had to change the wording from 'help and advice' to 'advice and help', and this was after that poster had been approved by the DHSS ruling demands that all those receiving free treatment must be resident in this country for three years. This nasty piece of legislation particularly affects women seeking abortions; providing the required proof means further delay. Women with non-English names, many of whom are black and already subjected to racist treatment, will find it Getting an abortion on the NHS in this country becomes more of an obstacle as the anti-abortionists and their friends in parliament try to get Corrie in through the back door The heart of the problem lies with the lack of NHS abortion facilities. This was raised at the recent labour movement conference on abortion, and a Bill will be presented during the present parnamenIt aims to make the provision of abortion facilities mandatory on area health authorities, something the 1967 Abortion Act has failed to do.
As the Labour Abortion Rights Campaign puts it: It isn't easy to get an aborbut it will become a great deal more difficult if nothing is done.'