In the third article of our 'Women in the Unions' series, LEONORA LLOYD, National Co-ordinator for the National Campaign (NAC), explains what needs to be done in campaigning around abortion rights in trade unions today. LAST YEAR a late-night TV programme showed a film made shortly before the 1967 Abortion Act was passed. It featured interviews with a number of women. One was a working class woman with eight children who had tried to have the last one aborted. Her doctor had told her she was in to berlin dd was in Glad no grounds. wite of a company director. She had two young. and had decided she could not manage a thira just yet A Harley Street doctor arranged for her to beseen by two psychologists to testify as to her precarious mental condition. Her abortion cost her €100, a lot of money then - even tor a com pany director band had had to borrow money.
This brought home to me Oct. 12, 1991 No. 9 known in theory - that the rích have always been able to get safe abortions. If they could not get them in Harley Street, they went abroad. Poorer working class women got more children, or badly-botched backstreet abortions - with death, disease and injury in their wake.
It is no coincidence theretore, that it was socialist women and tions - the Co-operative and Labour Party women's sections - who led the campaigns for legalised abortions from the 1930s onwards.
Free of charge
When NAC was founded in 1975, trade union and Labour quickly demand for demand, available free of charge on the NHS, into their organisations One of our proudest achievements was the 1y/y demonst tion, led by the TUC, against the anti-abortion Corrie Bill. This was the first pro-choice march anywhere in the world led by a trade union federation, and was the result of alot of hard work by many hundreds of trade Despite the clear defeat of the anti-abortionists' attempts over the last five years to attack time • limits, the fight is a long way from being over. Secondary schools have just recently plastic foetuses from the Society for the Protection of the Unborn Child (SPUC) and glossy education packs from the other anti-abortion organisation, LIFE. Meanwhile, NAC can only afford to send out its school kit to those who pay for The introduction of the new abortion pill, RU486, has led to a tremendous outburst of activity on the part of the anti-abortionists.
They've sent letters to the chairs of all health authorites and also issued instructions to all their supporting doctors to French company producing RU486 - even wher his means changing patients disting prescription But NAC's income canno keep up with its expenditure, never mind countering the current anti-abortion activity or continuing the very 00S17Y campaigni ng work of the past year. NAC has held two major meetings this year, both with a range of expert speakers.
One meeting was about RU486 with a speaker from Paris. The other Reproductive Rights in the 1990s', with a special speaker he Polish Women A SOM Wewant to increase the numher and range of our meetings.
and hold them around the country to ensure that women them. But these sort of activities are extremely will inexpensive, so volve a good deal of NAC is also planning a membership-drive, especially in the trade unions. We have a number of important unions in memb bership at a natonal level with no on few branches affiliated.
This is something that needs to be tackiea ut gently. It can best be done with the heip of activists from the unions in question. We sope to use our conference or 26 October, and the Women ir Unions' national meeting on 23 November to set up a group to lead this work.
Support
Britain is now one of the few countries in Europe without shortion on demand, Opinion polls show that 81 per cent of the public support a woman's right to choose The time is right to use the help of the trade unions and labour movement in the coming year to launch a major push and achieve at least Meanwhile, on current statistics, 40 per cent of women have abortions at some time in their lives.
Around 56 percent have to pay for them. We want to campaign for berer sex caucation and contraception provision to bring the abortion rate down, improved NHS provision. For ourselves, our sisters and our daughters, the campaign must continue and must succeed.
For further information contact NAC at Wesley House, 4 London, WC2B SAU. Tel: 071 405 4801.
Women in the our rights!
Sat 23rd Nov, 10-5 Wesley House, 4 Wild Court, London WC1
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