5 Years of Decrim!

5 years ago we gathered to celebrate the a monumental law change which saw the decriminalisation of abortion and the introduction of equal marriage in Northern Ireland. This was the outworking of decades of campaigning, lobbying and legal challenges alongside practical support under one of the most draconian abortion laws in the world. Let’s reflect on where we are in 2024.

No more prosecutions for self managed abortions.

Since the law changes, no one can be criminalised for self managing their abortion with safe pills from Women on Web or Women Help Women. This is huge and put us ahead of Britain, Ireland and most of Europe!

Abortion access in all 5 health trusts

All 5 health trusts have provision for Early Medical Abortion, that is abortion with pills. However this is only one location in some Trusts meaning long journeys for some for example from Enniskillen to Altnagalven instead of a closer NHS site.

Surgical abortion is less accessible. Only one site provides surgical abortion, meaning every Trust must refer there. Currently surgical abortion is only offered up to 20 weeks, which falls short of the 24 weeks provided for in the regulations.

Later term abortion can be even more complicated to access. Alliance for Choice have had to advocate for people who clearly met the requirements, sometimes helping them access care here others supporting them to travel for treatment they should have had at home.

The current level of provision, low levels of trained providers and lack of awareness amongst the medical profession is unacceptable 5 years on. 

Relationship and Sexuality Education

The 2019 legislation states there should be
‘“age-appropriate, comprehensive and scientifically accurate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, covering prevention of early pregnancy and access to abortion”

Instead we’ve had delays, consultations which focus on parents opting out, and an ongoing ‘mini inquiry’.

Our young people deserve, and had the right to, better.

What else?

Outside of the Regulations Safe Access Zones have been implemented and enforced at all sites providing abortion care! Again we were far ahead of elsewhere in these Islands on delivering this, with the Republic of Ireland and Scotland implanting similar legislation recently and England and Wales expected to in the near future.

Safe Access Zones have had varying success depending on the location, and they must be reviewed to ensure people accessing treatment or their workplace are protected from harassment.

Despite the regulations allowing the NI Health Minister to adopt telemedicine, and this measure being introduced by our neighbours during the pandemic and then retained due to it efficiency, we do not have telemedicine abortion in Northern Ireland. We need telemedicine abortion to address many of the barriers faced by women and pregnant people who need to access abortion be that travelling from a rural area, fitting appointments around work or caring, or being in an abusive or controlling home environment.

We called for telemedicine when the regulations were drawn up, and 5 years on we continue to repeat this call.

So where are we now?

Sometimes it’s hard to see how far we’ve come when our day to day is supporting those who fall through the cracks, and pushing for delivery and improvement of services.

Thousands of women and pregnant people have been able to access abortion care a lot closer to home than 5 years ago. While the latest figures show around 3 a week are still travelling to England, which needs to change, this is a vast reduction from 28 a week before the law change.

Unknown numbers are safely self managing their abortion without fear of prosecution with pills from Women on Web or Women Help Women.

However the lack of implementation of the regulations, limited sites providing abortion, and no telemedicine are shortcomings.

On paper we have one of the best abortion laws in Europe, but not in practice. We incorporated CEDAW recommendations into domestic legislation, but those recommendations have not been delivered.   We’ve some amazing conscientious providers committed to working in what continue to be pretty difficult circumstances, we need a health service and department that supports them.

The best abortion law is no abortion law, where abortion is treated as other healthcare. Removing criminalisation was a big step along that road.

Safe Abortion Day 2023

Thursday September 28th 2023 is the International Day for Safe Abortion, and we have plans!
We will be rallying at Shaftsbury Square from 12:30pm calling for the implementation of abortion services and looking ahead to the introduction of Safe Access Zone. Keep an eye on our socials too as we see how the SOSNI is faring and some other actions.

There will be events taking place all over the world, including in Dublin from our friends in Abortion Rights Campaign on Thursday, in Malta where Voice for Choice will be marching once again on Saturday and Stop Violencies Andorra have activities planned from 26 - 30 September! Check out http://www.september28.org/ to see what all is happening.

We have been told that Safe Access Zones will be in place ‘in a few weeks’ for a few months now, so we are not taking anything for granted, but this is a firm commitment from DOH that SAZs will be live this week. We still do not have commissioned abortion services either, so we’ve plenty to make noise about. Keep reading to learn more about how we got here, and what’s next.

Safe Access Zones

We are pleased to see a statement from the DoH today, 25th September, that they SAZs will be in place by the end of this week, the 29th September.
Earlier this month the NIO confirmed to us that the DoH were ‘on track’ to implement SAZs by the end of the month. This came after a few days of signage outside Causeway Hospital, which was removed as quickly as it was erected.  We are pleased to see a statement from the DoH today, 25th September, that they SAZs will be in place by the end of this week, the 29th September.

However, given the winding road we’ve had to get here we aren’t celebrating just yet.
The Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Act (Northern Ireland) 2023 came into force in May after a 6 month lead in period. Despite having time to prepare, 2 months after this The Department said ‘detailed preparation work has been ongoing for a number of months, including mapping and signage arrangements’ however they were still ‘finalising a policy statement on Safe Access Zones as part of the preparations for their introduction.’ Today’s announcement means they will just meet their earlier promise made on 3rd July 2023 to introduce SAZ by the end of September.

This slow movement from the Department means that women and pregnant people accessing health care, and the staff providing it, have continued to be harassed and intimidated despite Safe Access Zone legislation. 

Outstanding commitments

Abortion services are still not commissioned.

While Conscientious Providers are doing their best to rejig resources so that each Trust can provide Early Medical Abortion with pills, this is precarious. Lack of commission means a lack of funding, training, and staff. We’ve seen services collapse before in Trusts as hard working staff take the leave they are entitled to, this is unacceptable for workers and patients alike. 

The Department of Health refuse to provide a central online information point for those needing abortions. While the NIO and some individual Trusts are doing what they can to provide information, some women and pregnant people are still ending up at Stanton Healthcare who continue to provide misinformation, harass and traumatize women; at times deliberately engaging them until past the 9 weeks 6 days cut off. 

Accessing abortion care currently means contacting the Central Booking Line via phone or web form, waiting for them to contact you to arrange an appointment, and then waiting for the appointment. It is a lot of waiting to fit into around 10 weeks! We’ve been contacted by people waiting up to 2 weeks for a call back, and then 5 weeks for an appointment. BPAS are doing what they can to meet demand but are under pressure with resources given that abortions in England have also increased by 17% on this time last year.

The process for surgical abortion or those after 12 weeks is even harder to navigate. Due to a lack of guidelines, and ongoing criminalisation of healthcare providers in the regulations, people are being sent for second opinions or having their request for an abortion assessed by a panel of doctors. Manual Vacuum Aspiration is being progressed in one Trust but we have no specifics on when it will be available, or to what gestation.

We need commissioned and resourced abortion services, managed at a local level, supported by the introduction of telemedicine. 

We need an end to the criminalisation of doctors, midwives and nurses.

We need the 2020 regulations as a minimum. 

No care at home

The UK Government have released figures for January - June 2022.

These figures show that 96 women and pregnant people traveled from NI to England for abortion, 4 a week, 1 every other day.

This includes 3 under 16s, and 3 aged 16 or 17;  6 minors had to travel to England. 

They should have been treated here.
Around a third of those who traveled were under 10 weeks. Were they living in a Trust where services had collapsed? Did they need a surgical abortion due to a medical condition? 

They should have been treated here.
15 were over 20 weeks. Had they found something out at their ‘big scan’, and the doctor was too worried about criminalisation? 

They should have been treated here.

What’s next?

Maybe the Department will have crossed all their Ts and dotted their Is soon, and we will be able to celebrate not too long after International Safe Abortion Day that we have Safe Access Zones that can actually be enforced.

Maybe We’ll have commissioned, resourced, locally available abortion services by the end of 2023.

Maybe then no one else will have to travel.

In any event our Doulas will continue to support people who self manage their abortion, our website will continue to have the most up to date information, and we will continue to advocate for those who need us too - whether they have complex medical needs, are an asylum seeker in contingency accommodation, or have been misled by so called ‘crisis pregnancy centers’.

International Safe abortion day events register

Please fill out the form below and give us your email if you want a zoom link or funding for transport!

Alliance for Choice undeterred by Billboard damage and abuse

PRESS RELEASE Monday 27th September 2021

On the eve of International Safe Abortion Day Alliance for Choice have two messages;
"Abortion is Normal."
and
"All sorts of people need abortions."

These messages were displayed on billboards in 11 sites across Northern Ireland alongside beautiful artwork by local artist, Nichola Irvine. Within days many billboards were damaged or destroyed completely. Within a week the campaign was reluctantly withdrawn by the company hosting the billboards, due to abuse of their staff and criminal damage to the billboards. The company wishes to identify those involved and are seeking legal advice on further action they can take. 

Naomi Connor, Co Convenor said;"Our billboard locations were carefully selected to be visible by women and pregnant people accessing abortion care. It is unsurprising that anti choice people have resorted to harassment in an attempt to silence us, after all it is the kind of activity they engage in weekly outside clinics. We will not be silenced. They may be able to tear down a poster but they cannot tear down the pro choice majority. We had an incredibly positive reaction to our pro-choice message from members of the public and across social media."

Anti-choice online abuse and on-street harassment of women and pregnant people accessing abortion care must stop. 

Emma Campbell, Co-Convenor added, “The billboards were funded by our amazing supporters chipping in to show they care about abortion seekers. Everyone loves someone who has had an abortion. Alliance for Choice will continue to ensure that there is free safe legal local abortion access for everyone who wants or needs one, regardless of the aggression anti-choice protesters show to healthcare staff and patients.”

In the coming days, we will continue with our campaign, albeit differently. We will not be deterred. Such despicable actions strengthen our resolve to normalise abortion healthcare in Northern Ireland.

We will not be bullied into silence.

ENDS

-----------

Contact:

Emma Campbell 07894063965  

Naomi Connor 07505096576

Alliance for Choice 

www.alliance4choice.com

@All4Choice

Further Information

The billboard images are stills from our series of short films ‘Who gets to choose?’ created by Alliance for choice with feminist artist Nichola Irvine.
Available at - https://www.alliance4choice.com/who-gets-to-choose

PRESS RELEASE: IMMEDIATE RELEASE SECRETARY OF STATE TO DIRECT DEPT. OF HEALTH COMMISSIONING OF ABORTION SERVICES IN NI

Begins: Alliance for Choice (AFC) welcome with relief, the news that Secretary of State for Northern Ireland (SOSNI), Brandon Lewis will direct the Department of Health NI to commission a CEDAW compliant abortion service by March 2022, mandating free, safe and legal access to everyone in NI who needs it. 

Naomi Connor commented, 

‘Finally, long overdue abortion services can take their place within healthcare in Northern Ireland. We remain hopeful that people will no longer have to endure the degradation of forced travel to England or navigating a precarious and limited service.’

AFC recognise the weight of today’s intervention, but Westminster must honour the SOSNI’s obligation to step in, as the state party responsible for our rights. Stormont’s democratic dysfunction has failed to deliver on the 2019 NI Executive Formation Act, irrespective of the trauma of forced travel and human rights breaches. AFC urges the Department of Health to ensure the commissioned services proceed unimpeded and with urgency. We also welcome his call to the DoH for immediate funding support for interim provision of early medical abortion, which continues to be precarious. 

Ms Connor continued

‘Each passing day ignores the real women and pregnant people who need clear pathways to adequate abortion healthcare. Further delays and obstruction to abortion services is never acceptable to the one in three of us who require this type of healthcare.’

Emma Campbell said, ‘Whilst we now breathe a sigh of relief, we remain disappointed that whole communities are failed by their leaders on this issue. We can no longer ignore that almost 2,000 abortion seekers sought treatment in the last year from across our population. This announcement doesn’t ask those who disagree with abortion to change, they still don’t have to have one. Therefore we request respect for those who do and allow them to access healthcare in peace and dignity.’

We are vigilant to the presence of rogue pregnancy clinics and groups intent on harassing women using abortion healthcare facilities. It is therefore critical that the government should act swiftly to ensure that women and pregnant people are free from anti-choice harassment and abuse. We also would like to thank all of the outstanding medical staff in NI and England who continued to provide abortion care to us all despite the difficulties and those stand-out local leaders who have stood by us from across the political spectrum.

Contact:

AFC Co-Convenors, 

Emma Campbell 07894063965  

Naomi Connor 07505 096576

ENDS

NOTES for EDITORS:

1. The Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020 introduced in March 2020 are designed to implement the recommendations contained in paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW Report of the inquiry concerning the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland under article 8 of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Report), this includes provision for abortion in cases of severe foetal impairment. These regulations need to be implemented in full so that no pregnant person is forced to travel to England to access basic healthcare.

2. The Committee assesses the gravity of the violations in NI in light of the suffering experienced by women and girls who carry pregnancies to full term against their will due to the current restrictive legal regime on abortion.
   

3. The CEDAW Report can be found here https://www.ohchr.org/en/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=22693&LangID=E
   

4. Matters relating to health and justice provisions, both of which are within devolved competence, and the incompatibility with CEDAW could have been remedied by the NI Assembly. In the absence of this however under the Good Friday Agreement (Paragraph 33(b) of Strand 1) the Westminster Parliament is to “legislate as necessary” to ensure the UK’s human rights and other international obligations are met for NI.
   

5. Primary legislation was consequently passed in Westminster. Section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 repealed sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (which criminalised abortions in NI). It also placed the Secretary of State under a legal obligation to ensure that the framework under paragraphs 85 and 86 of the CEDAW report are implemented, including a continuous and ongoing duty to make changes to NI law through secondary law Regulations to ensure such implementation.

6. The Secretary of State consequently introduced The Abortion (Northern Ireland) (No. 2) Regulations 2020. Regulation 7 provides for termination of pregnancy in cases of “Severe fetal impairment or fatal fetal abnormality.” This is consistent with what is required by the CEDAW framework and primary legislation.

7. Strictly speaking the primary legislation, in repealing the provisions of the 1861 Act, dealt with decriminalisation. However, Regulation 11 introduces an element of re-criminalisation for medical professionals who perform a termination deemed to be outside the terms of the Regulations. This re-criminalisation was not recommended by CEDAW. When medical professionals conduct procedures outside of the legal framework, such issues are usually dealt with administratively or through the application of professional standards, rather than through creating a criminal offence. Re-criminalisation may constitute a chill factor to providing services to which there are entitlements, in particular in a challenge to a precise diagnosis relating to severe impairment or FFA.

8. In relation the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) Article 8 covers the ‘right to respect for private and family life’ and restrictions on the same must be ‘in accordance with the law’. This is the principle of ‘legal certainty’ which has been consistently held by the European Court of Human Rights to apply to abortion services. Put simply this means when a person has a right to an abortion in law there must be a clear way of accessing that service in practice.

Abortion as a woman’s health issue for 28th May

By Jill McManus

Women’s health in Northern Ireland (NI) has made some astonishing legal progress but the services have been slow to catch up. Abortion was decriminalised in NI in October 2019, and after public consultation, regulations were laid down in March 2020. However, for the entirety of the Covid-19 global pandemic, during which the public was asked to stay at home, women and pregnant people in NI continued to face the injustice of travelling for abortion services. It has been 20 months since decriminalisation, yet for every day of those 20 months our government has been failing women.

When abortion is discussed by our politicians in NI, it is framed as an ethical and more often than not, religious, issue. This framing does not adequately express the experiences of the women and pregnant people who travel for that care or access it in NI.

When Alliance for Choice (AfC) discuss abortion, we consider it as a key aspect of human rights namely - bodily autonomy, dignity, the right to a personal and family life and mental well-being. As a final year medical student, and very soon to be doctor, I consider it to be a part of the broad spectrum of healthcare women access across their lives: contraception, fertility and pregnancy, menstrual health, menopause and for 1 in 3 women across their lifetime, abortion is a reality.

This year, on International Day of Action for Women’s Health, we at AfC are reflecting on the current lack of access to abortion services locally in Northern Ireland, the context in which women’s health is discussed in our education and healthcare systems, and the fight for justice in gender equality.

Northern Ireland was not included in the 1967 Abortion Act, which allowed for doctors to provide abortion care in England and Wales, and in Scotland up to 1991. For 50 years, abortion was more heavily restricted in Northern Ireland and that has yielded a society that is, in many ways, decades behind on women’s healthcare, pervading all aspects of health throughout the lives of women and girls.

This begins with our relationship and sex education (RSE) in schools. Roughly 70% of post-primary schools in NI use abstinence based RSE, provided from an evangelical Christian perspective. Many schools, during the ethics portion of religious studies, also teach only a “Christian” perspective on abortion, however we know from groups recently formed such as the Faith Voices for Reproductive Justice that there is no singular “Christian” perspective on abortion. Many of those who are of faith use contraception and sometimes, they require access to abortion care. Aspects of sexual pleasure, consent or LGBT+ relationships are not even touched upon, never mind integrated within RSE teaching.

The result is that young people are failed by our education system regarding RSE. According to a survey by Love to Know NI, 96.8% of respondents wanted change in how RSE is delivered island-wide, with those responding describing their RSE experience as “inadequate”, “terrible” and “useless”. (1)

The stigma perpetuated around sexuality for women, results in a difficulty for women in accessing contraception and abortion services. In January this year, over 700 women were contacted regarding poor placement of contraceptive implants between 2017 and 2020. (2) Some of these women became pregnant, and the for the vast majority of this period they would have been unable to access abortion services at home or would have been under threat of prosecution for seeking telemedicine services from providers such as Women Help Women or Women on Web.

This is an environment which leaves women with nowhere to go. There is currently a dearth of access to family planning clinics, and for those who can access contraception, long waiting lists for long-acting reversible contraception and the threat of this being inserted incorrectly, resulting in an unintended pregnancy at the end of it all.

For those trying to become pregnant, there is also a lack of funded access to fertility treatments in NI, with only one fresh and one frozen embryo transfer funded by the Health and Social Care Board (3), another inequity between NI and the rest of the UK. This is even less for those not in heterosexual relationships, and there are no sperm banks.

Many women report high levels of satisfaction with maternal care during pregnancy and childbirth, however NI has one of the lowest rates of breastfeeding in the world, with 24% of women wanting more support in breastfeeding according to the Birth NI survey. (4)

Until this year there was also no funding for perinatal mental health treatment and a mother and baby psychiatric care unit, however, thanks to brave campaigners like the Maternal Advocacy and Support Project and Linsday Robinson this has changed and funding for a unit for new mothers with post-natal mental illness will now be granted.

Lifelong issues for women, such as chronic menstrual pain are also, unsurprisingly, not treated well in Northern Ireland. With an 8 and a half year wait for women to be diagnosed with endometriosis, a condition that impacts on as many as 1 in 10 women, they are left in chronic monthly pain and no state-funded access to diagnosis or treatment. With only one specialist in surgery for endometriosis, it is not shocking that so many women experience delays in surgery for debilitating pain. (6)

This paints a picture of women’s healthcare not being prioritised, women’s pain disbelieved, and women’s experiences ignored. It took until 2021 for Stormont to develop a strategy for violence against women and girls, despite it being reported in August 2020, that reports of domestic violence being at an all-time high. (7) Even our now-legal abortion services are constantly under threat despite not even being implemented fully; women using services in hospitals are forced to see graphic anti-abortion imagery, one MLA is bringing a private member’s bill to restrict abortion from severe foetal anomaly to fatal foetal anomaly – an action that would force some of the most vulnerable women and families to travel to England for care, and Robin Swann, the Minister for Health at Stormont is still refusing to commission abortion care services across the HSC Board.

Despite what our Health Minister says, abortion is not a “contentious issue” that requires executive involvement. Abortion is no longer a criminal act in Northern Ireland, thereby making it the domain of healthcare and not criminal justice. Further, why should an executive minister in infrastructure or agriculture have vetoing power on a deeply intimate part of women’s health?

By refusing to commission these services, Robin Swann is allowing the DUP and the UK Government to use an important part of women’s healthcare as a political bargaining tool.

There is an assembly election next year, and it is important for all of us to ask difficult questions of those asking for our vote. Make it clear to candidates in your areas that our bodies are not up for debate and that this will be an issue you will be voting on. It’s likely at least one of the issues discussed in this article have impacted on you or the people you love. We make up half the population – its time women are seen for the significant decision makers in society that we are.

If you or someone you know needs an abortion, contact Informing Choices NI or Alliance for Choice for advice.

Here are some other important organisations to follow on these issues:

- The Homeless Period Belfast

- Abortion Support Network

- Transgender NI

- Here NI

- Women’s Aid NI

- Rape Crisis NI

- Raise Your Voice

- Love to Know NI

- Reclaim the Night

- Reclaim the Agenda

(1) https://lovetoknowni.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/love-to-know_-island-wide-rse-survey.pdf

(2) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55564048

(3) https://fertilitynetworkuk.org/trying-to-conceive/nhs-funding/northern-ireland/

(4) https://www.qub.ac.uk/schools/SchoolofNursingandMidwifery/FileStore/Filetoupload,670193,en.pdf?platform=hootsuite

(5) https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-55646361

(6) https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/health/northern-ireland-women-with-endometriosis-in-eight-year-wait-for-diagnosis-40349476.html

(7) https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/domestic-violence-northern-ireland-police-a9693551.html

For #16DAYSNI we need Robin Swann to commission telemedicine... by Amy Merron

Abortion was decriminalised in October 2019 and since then the failure of Robin Swann and the Department of Health to commission services has seen women and pregnant people continuing to travel to seek abortion care that is legal here.

10 out of 26 areas in Northern Ireland have no access to early medical abortion services. The Northern Trust is the largest geographical health trust in NI and is also the most recent to have ceased provision of clinic-based early medical abortion services. Women and pregnant people in this trust now face further barriers to access will have to travel to seek the legal abortion that they could have had at home.

The current situation in Northern Ireland sees early medical abortion services only available up to 10 weeks gestation (9 weeks 6 days) despite the law stating it should be available on request up to 12 weeks gestation and the World Health Organisation recommending 13 weeks. No commissioned services mean that there has been no information published by health trusts on how and when to access services leaving women and pregnant people in the dark when it comes to making healthcare decisions.

The World Health Organisation have recognised that abortion services are essential healthcare and have stated that “abortion provision in a global pandemic should minimise facility visits and provider-client contacts through the use of telemedicine and self-management approaches.” 

During the COVID-19 pandemic the rest of the U.K. has seen improved access to abortion through telemedicine and pills-by-post services. Northern Ireland has yet again been left behind despite being the only part of the U.K. that has fully decriminalised abortion. This is due to the continued obstruction to access by the NI Executive including prominent anti-choice politicians.

Telemedicine is safe and effective and has proven to be a vital service, providing people with safety and reassurance during the ongoing pandemic. Telemedicine would allow a medical practitioner to have a consultation with the pregnant person either over the phone or online. If eligible they will be prescribed mifepristone and misoprostol which can be collected at a pharmacy, alongside instructions for how to take the medication and information on who to contact if additional support is needed.

The Department of Health has advised the public to stay at home, however, women and pregnant people are being forced to travel to a clinic to take a single pill, when they can take the further 4 pills at home 24 hours later. Travelling in a pandemic puts the pregnant person and health professionals at risk of contracting COVID-19.

Beyond the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, telemedicine will provide the modern and compassionate support which is crucial to accommodating women and pregnant people from marginalised groups. Asylum seekers, ethnic minorities, sex workers, the travelling community and LGBTQIA+ people are all disproportionately impacted by barriers to abortion services. Moreover, women and pregnant people may also have caring responsibilities, no access to transport, limited access to finances or are the victims of domestic abuse and coercive control which reduces their ability to access clinic-based care.

Alliance for Choice believes that everyone should have the right to choose, this extends to deciding between clinic-based care and self-managed abortions. Self-managed approaches use the same safe medications that are prescribed in clinics by healthcare professionals. Mifepristone and misoprostol are effective up to 98% of the time and this approach is used by millions of people around the world to safely end pregnancies up to 13 weeks with no long-term effects.

Self-managed approaches will allow us to be our own service providers removing many of the barriers to services that we currently face. Care at home enables us to have more control over our own bodies so we can be supported in ending our pregnancies safely, effectively and privately at home. Alliance for Choice have provided self-managed abortion workshops to empower, educate and inform activists and others in Northern Ireland. These workshops outline where to access the safe and legal online pills, how to take them, what to expect and who to call if there are any complications or worries.

Free, safe, legal and local abortions mean accessible services for everyone who needs them, and the continued obstruction of abortion access and reproductive justice is impacting the lives of women and pregnant people across the North.

Over the next two weeks we will be sharing how telemedicine prevents and ameliorates the impacts of gender-based violence… please link, like and share across our website and social media platforms.

A year to here - one year on from the decriminalisation of abortion in NI

October
In October there was a last ditch attempt by anti-choice MLAs to restore Stormont after nearly 3 years to block abortion access and marriage equality. We said Stop the Shenanigans, and celebrated as abortion was decriminalised. The NIO issued interim guidance for healthcare professionals who were able to start providing care.

November

In November the consultation for the abortion regulations opened, and we planned a series of Consultation Cafes to help people respond to the consultation and have their voices heard. Thanks to supporters we raised £10428.34 through Local Giving to run these events and produce information booklets on what the new law could mean.  

December

Consultation Cafes continued into December, and we worked on the response from Alliance for Choice. We hosted the ‘Normalising Abortion’ conference where we came together to demonstrate our achievements over many decades in the struggle for reproductive rights and planned for what’s next.

January
Stormont returned and the New Decade New Approach deal was signed. Robin Swann became health minister. We also welcomed back the FPA with their new name Informing Choices NI.

February
In February we had a meeting along with friends in the women’s sector with Minister Walker and NIO staff. We told them in detail the shortcomings of the regulations, our concern at the creation of a new criminal offense for health care professionals, and our doubts that the wording was strong enough for the Health Department to be compelled to act. We were right, but they didn’t listen.

March
The regulations were published along with an explanatory note from the NIO. As expected the did not deliver the #FreeSafeLegalLocal abortion care we need. We launched our #ThisIsAnSOS campaign highlighting the flaws, and calling on the newly appointed secretary of state Brandon Lewis to uphold our human rights, as well as highlighting the need for telemedicine as Covid19 restrictions grew. A debate at Stormont proved to be a platform for anti choice rhetoric, but had no impact on the regulations.

https://www.alliance4choice.com/thisisansos
https://www.alliance4choice.com/news/2020/3/activists-across-the-island-call-for-emergency-measures-to-include-abortion-telemedicine

https://www.alliance4choice.com/news/2020/3/regulations-published-for-northern-ireland-abortion-provision-amidst-covid-19
https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/a-new-legal-framework-for-abortion-services-in-northern-Ireland

April
the pandemic led to travel chaos, flights were cancelled and everyone was advised to #StayHomeSaveLives. Despite this the Minister for Health refused to commission abortion services, and the NIO repeatedly told us to travel to England for funded care. The only option for travel was an 8 hour overnight freight ferry, with no where to stay when you got there, and clinics struggling to provide services due to staff shortages caused by Covid. 

Following a near tragedy when a woman was denied abortion care despite regulations being in place, Minister Swann and the executive brought in interim guidelines for early medical abortion up to 10 week. This did not included telemedicine, nor did it commission services. Informing Choices NI began operating the Central Access Point organising appointments at a limited number of providers.

May
Robin Swann continued to say abortion  is a cross-cutting matter that needed to be approved by the whole executive, meaning that he would not commission services. Westminster advanced the regulations to the next stage which involved some minor amendments to language.

June

The regulations received their final approval at Westminster. At Stormont, The DUP brought a cynical motion attempting to limit abortion provision in the guise of disability rights, and Sinn Fein added an unhelpful amendment. The vote was non-binding and does not alter the Regulations. Figures were released from the UK Government to show that 1014 people travelled from NI to GB for an abortion in 2019.

July

The House of Commons published a briefing note on the regulations, nothing that There were 8 ‘terminations of pregnancy’ in hospitals in Northern Ireland in 2018-19 under the existing law, while 1,053 women travelled to England from Northern Ireland in 2018 for an abortion procedure under a scheme funded by the UK Government.

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-8909/
With the ongoing failure of the health department to commission abortion services, we started our Doula classes.

August

Responding to the DUP, the government representative Viscount Younger of Lecki said ‘the Government stands ready to provide whatever support and guidance we can to both the Northern Ireland Minister for Health and his department to assist them in progressing work to set up full abortion services as soon as possible, consistent with the Regulations.’ Despite this there were still no attempts to commission abortion services, with the DOH issuing a statement saying that commissioning of services would require a consultation, and cross party executive approval.

September
In September we celebrated Safe Abortion Day and the annual March For Choice digitally. The theme was #CareAtHome, which highlighted the need for the commissioning of abortion services, the fact people were still traveling, and the importance of telemedicine especially during the pandemic. 

October

As a result of the lack of commissioning of services by the DoH, the Northern Trust was forced to pull services due to a lack of resources. In response to a question from Claire Bailey GPNI, Robin Swann maintained his position that while abortion is now legal, he believes he is not obliged to commission services. The DoH also issued a statement reiterating their position that any commissioning would require consultation, and executive approval. Despite the many barriers to abortion services, figures are released that show 664 people were able to access abortion in NI from April – September. It is not known how many ordered pills from Women on Web or Women Help Women, or how many continued to travel.

Self-Managed Abortions do not put anyone at any greater risk...

Or, what we actually responded to the Newsletter’s Adam Kula:

Today the Newsletter once against posted a scaremongering article this time about abortion access; https://donotlink.it/LP6lVy

So Alliance for Choice would like to publish our conversation with the writer in question, in full, as we believe some of the article is misleading and harmful.

”Good evening,

This is Adam Kula at the News Letter, I hope you are well. I am getting in touch because I had seen your upcoming class on 'self-managed abortion' and wanted to run this past you.

The Department of Health says the following: "Women are at risk if they access unregulated abortion services – the Department’s view is that that services should be properly delivered through direct medical supervision within the Health and Social Care system."

In short, I wondered if you wanted to have your say on that. If so, please email me here by noon tomorrow if you can.

Regards,

Adam Kula”

---

Hi Adam, 

Thanks for your email and your interest in our Pills class - are you going to attend the class?
I am drafting a response to the question for you now.

Many thanks

Emma Campbell, Co-Convenor

---

Hello,

Thanks for that. I'll not be attending, though. It's just that, when I read about the class, it brought to mind conversations I've had with the RCM in the past, where they've told me they were opposed to the idea of DIY abortions, on the grounds that terminations are best performed in a supervised clinical environment.

Adam Kula

---

Dear Adam, 

Many thanks for enquiring about our online class explaining how to use abortion pills at home safely. This is part of the joint activities with our partner the Abortion Rights Campaign to commemorate International Day of Safe Abortion. The theme this year is 'I manage my abortion' and our local theme is 'care at home'. The home use of abortion pills following consultation with a medical professional is safe and it is healthcare that should be commissioned by the Department of Health in NI following the regulations. People should not be forced to travel to GB to access abortion care, which the NIO and DoH suggest as an acceptable pathway. Currently across GB there are measures for telemedicine and home use of pills in place, NI once again stands as a place apart failing to offer those who need abortions care even though there is now a legal obligation for these services to be provided.Our session on abortion pills, details the drugs used for early medical abortion, the methods of taking the pills for the most effective outcomes, the safety measures for afterwards, how to look out for complications and what to do if they arise. Alliance for Choice have been running similar workshops for almost 7 years and the medical advice and evidence we use is based both on the recommendations of the World Health Organisation and the advice of providers such as BPAS, Women on Web and Women Help Women, all of whom follow strict clinical guidelines and ask patients to go through either an online or telephone consultation before accessing the pills.

The World Health Organisation released a report in 2018 outlining the safest methods of delivery for medical abortion, based on global evidence, they concluded,

 “Given the nature of the medical abortion process, it is also possible for individuals to play a role in managing some of the components by themselves, outside of a health-care facility. Another existing WHO guideline, Health worker roles in providing safe abortion and post-abortion contraception (2015), recommends that in specific circumstances, individuals may self-manage their mifepristone and/or misoprostol medication without direct supervision of a health-care provider, as well as self-assess the success of the abortion process using pregnancy tests and checklists.”

For women and pregnant people in Northern Ireland, currently the main method of delivery of abortion up to 10 weeks gestation, is with the pills mifepristone and misoprostol, with the 1st pill being taken at a clinic and the second set of pills at home. Despite the law saying abortion should be on request up to 12 weeks and pills being recommended up to 13 weeks by the World Health Organisation, our health service stops at 10 weeks as it has not been properly commissioned by the Department of Health due to political prevarication. This has meant many people are not able to properly access abortion with pills via the Northern Ireland Health Service, even though legally they should.

For some in NI, if they qualify, they can order the pills to be delivered by post from BPAS https://www.bpas.org/abortion-care/abortion-treatments/the-abortion-pill/remote-treatment/ and others continue to use the services of Women on Web and Women Help Women,  which is currently not a criminal offence. If you look online, information on how to access abortion in Northern Ireland has not been published by any of our Health Trusts, again, due to a failure of the Depart of Health to provide information and services. Informing Choices NI do sterling work in supporting people with access up to 10 weeks but again are not supported to do this by our Health Department and have to rely on charity funding.

Once England pressed ahead with self-managed telemedicine abortion due to Covid-19, Dr Edward Morris, President of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said:

“Giving women the option of taking both abortion pills at home following a video consultation is safe and effective and has rightly been judged as a vital and necessary step if we are to limit the spread of COVID-19. Many women will no longer be forced to make the difficult decision between leaving their home and continuing with an unwanted pregnancy. This change in practice will reduce pressure on the health system while limiting the unnecessary risk of infection for women, their families and health workers. We now urge Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland to introduce similar measures to help protect frontline staff."

Equally on 24th March 2020 when the UK government were failing to allow for home use during covid, the Royal College of Midwives (RCM) and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) stated,

“We are disappointed by the Government’s decision not to allow home-use of mifepristone, the first drug used for early medical abortion. This change in practice which the Government announced and later revoked would have enabled women to access care remotely through video and teleconference, with treatment sent by post. This would have reduced pressure on an already overwhelmed health system, limited risk of coronavirus infection for women, their families and healthcare professionals, while ensuring safe and timely access to abortion care.”

We appreciate your concern for the safety of women and pregnant people needing abortions. We want everyone to have access to free, safe, legal, and local abortion care should they want or need it. Therefore we have asked both the NIO and DoH for all services, as mandated by law, to be provided to people in NI through our Health Service. These services should include home use, as recommended by the World Health Organisation, and telemedicine as in place across GB. We urgently need the DoH to commission services in line with the regulations, fulfilling their legal duty, as well as a public awareness campaign and training for healthcare professionals. Until the government does their job, Alliance for Choice will continue to share international best practice guidance and support those who need to access abortion.

Kind Regards
Emma Campbell & Naomi Connor

---

Wow - quite a reply! Received, many thanks.
Adam Kula

---

Access to safe abortion is very important to us, as is up to date and accurate reporting on the issue.

thanks Adam

Emma

---

Adam, we also have a statement from Women on Web:

In the last thirty years since unsafe abortion was defined, evidence has evolved and new technologies such as vacuum aspiration and medical abortion, have changed the terms and conditions of abortion care provision. Today, the World Health Organization affirms that individuals can self manage their abortions up until 13 weeks and recommends telemedicine abortion services to be expanded to ensure access to abortion. WHO suggests that self-management of medical abortion is non-invasive, cost-effective, acceptable and improves autonomy. The international community, including WHO, as a result has actually moved away from a dichotomous division of safety when it comes to abortion care, to a more three-tiered classification (safe, less safe, and least safe) to better capture the spectrum of varying situations and experiences individuals face on the ground.
The 15 years of service and experience of Women on Web epitomizes this progress and testifies that individuals can self manage their abortions safely when provided with accurate instructions and information, and supported in case of complications. - Hazal Atay, Women on Web
Emma Campbell

---

Good stuff - it's good to get comment to balance things out where possible, but this is a whopping lot of text! I'll include what space allows. Best,
Adam Kula

---

well then at least you have plenty of medical evidence-based quotes to choose from!
Emma

Also thought it would be significant for you to know that Pakistan offers the services our Health Department won't. 

PAKISTAN – Training in telehealth

 by International Campaign for Women's Right to Safe Abortion |  posted in: Asia, News, Newsletter, Pakistan, Uncategorised |  0

With physical access to health facilities in Pakistan severely limited by the country’s rapidly growing number of Covid-19 cases, providing women and girls an alternative way to get reproductive health counseling and information “is the need of the hour,” says Ghulam Shabbir Awan, director of Ipas Pakistan.

A new telehealth initiative is helping meet that need. The project is a joint effort by Ipas Pakistan, provincial departments of health and  Sehat Kahani Pakistan, a non-governmental organization working to improve low-income people’s access to quality health care. To date, 22 private- and public-sector health professionals have received three days of online training that has equipped them to provide telehealth consultations with women and girls in need of medical abortion, abortion self-care or post-abortion contraception.

In addition, Ipas-trained lady health workers (LHWs) are reaching out to women and girls to make them aware that telehealth consultations are available and free of charge during the COVID-19 crisis. Seventy-eight lady health workers have been trained on how to access the telehealth services and they, in turn, are helping women and girls access the services by smartphones.

SOURCE: Ipas, 22 July 2020

Emma Campbell

Regulations published for Northern Ireland Abortion provision amidst COVID-19

Alliance for Choice honour the monumental efforts of women and pregnant people, activist organisations, committed healthcare professionals, civic society and political allies that have brought about the new regulations in Northern Ireland for those who will need abortions. Though we welcome the news, it falls significantly short, especially in a time of a global pandemic. If the COVID19 crisis is to intensify as predicted, the Health Minister has a duty to sanction provision that does not jeopardise the health of women and pregnant people by forcing them to travel to clinics unnecessarily for abortions. 

Naomi Connor, Co Convenor said;

“We should not place women and pregnant people at risk of unsafe abortion when there is a scientific, safe and readily available alternative. At AFC we have heard directly that barriers and lack of access to abortion pills has led many to use dangerous alternatives. This is not a reality we wish to revisit when there is a body of scientific research that supports abortion telemedicine provision.”

Healthcare workers should not be put at risk by needlessly increasing footfall in healthcare premises when proven alternatives are readily available. Telemedicine is not only safe and effective for patients, but also serves to keep our healthcare staff safe and deployed where they are needed at such a critical time.

Emma Campbell Co-Convenor added, 

“We note the NIO has said that arrangements for funded treatment in England will still stand  “until we are confident that service provision in Northern Ireland is available to meet women’s needs”. However we are concerned they have not considered the impact on COVID-19 on both travel and the availability of abortion appointments in England as services shut down.”

The regulations make clear provision for the Health Minister to approve further places where medical abortion can be performed at any point in time. Now is that time and Minister Swann needs to ensure that this pandemic does not place women & healthcare providers at unnecessary risk. The Minister must act now, as is his charge, and as is provided for in the recent abortion guidelines to ensure this service is rolled out to women and pregnant people in NI seeking abortion healthcare

ENDS

-----------

Contact:

Emma Campbell 07894063965  

Naomi Connor 07505096576

Alliance for Choice 

www.alliance4choice.com

@All4Choice

Further Information

‘Where procedures can take place - terminations to be carried out in General Practitioners premises, clinics provided by a Health and Social Care (HSC) trust, and HSC hospitals, operating under the overall Northern Ireland HSC framework and women’s homes where the second stage of early medical terminations may be carried out. The Regulations also provide a power for the Northern Ireland Health Minister to be able to approve further places where medical abortion can be performed, with the power being able to be exercised at any point in time.’

A summary of key points:

- Abortion on request up to 12 weeks, certification from 1 healthcare professional. For medical abortion, home use for second pill will be permitted.

- Abortion 12-24 weeks with ground specificied in the consultation doc and ground C of the Abortion Act 1967. This is expanded upon in the explanatory notes, and in the explanatory notes which state other factors, like well being, which 'may be taken into account'. Certification of 1 doctor and 1 HCP will be needed.

- There will be a criminal, non imprisonable sanction for those HCPs who act outside of the regs, this will carry a 5k fine.

- No time gestational limit where there is a severe or fatal anomaly

- Conscientious objection will mirror Section 4 of the Abortion Act 1967 and will include a duty to refer.

- No action on safe/buffer zones

- CBS funding will continue.

- the explanatory notes can be amendment by the assembly/depts

Please contact us for a copy of the regulations.

BELOW ARE A NUMBER OF POSSIBLE CASE STUDIES

• Someone who has tested positive and whose phase in isolation would push them over 12 weeks by the time they got to a provider. 

• Someone who is in a high risk vulnerable group and does not feel safe to leave the house.  

• Someone who has tried to make travel arrangements to get to England but as clinics are closing cannot get an appointment 

• Someone on a normally low income who has lost their job due the crisis and cannot afford the additional funds that would be needed to travel

• Someone who had an appointment in England whose flight has now been cancelled

• Someone caring for elderly relatives or immuno-suppresed relatives in their own home and cannot risk infection.

• A rise in intimate partner violence was recorded in China during the lockdown, this increases the likelihood of pregnancy as a result of rape and decreases the ability of an abused partner to leave the house safely.

• An Asylum Seeker, who would normally be unable to travel, may be further restricted in access to abortion care by movements of asylum seekers within Ireland being completely restricted going forward, and similarly with visitors not being allowed any access in. If/When asylum seekers are locked down in centres due to COVID-19 they may be hindered in accessing abortion support networks and/or abortion care.

• Someone who is in the country illegally and/ without papers; with tightening of border control internationally due to COVID-19 crisis, it may be structurally impossible for them to access abortion care within or without of Ireland, due to fear of deportation and/or imprisonment 

• Someone who is in a high risk vulnerable group medically and/ disabled, travel may normally be restricted due to physical and financial limitations; however being known to medical and state services as high risk and/ disabled may make a case for someone not being granted exceptional orders to travel for abortion care to delimit potential exposure to COVID-19 (ie ‘for your own good’)

• Someone who is in a high risk vulnerable group medically and/ disabled, particularly for cases over 12 weeks; if risk of threat to life of continuing pregnancy for pregnant person is already high without COVID-19 diagnosis, and if such same person were to be exposed to COVID-19, thus increasing risk to their own life, they then could be considered a major risk to their own health, and travel for abortion care denied  

• Someone in state care, a minor, travel may be restricted on guardianship grounds to be in the best interests of the health of the child going fwd, and the lack of agency of the child in such circumstances  

Legal, safe and free abortion: reproductive rights in Argentina.

‘Sexual education to decide, contraceptives to (do not need) to abort, legal abortion to not die’ 

blog post by Marianna Espinos Blasco, current masters LLM Gender, Conflict and Human Rights student at Ulster University

Protesting in front of the Argentine Parliament with the characteristic green handkerchief of the Campaign for the Right to Legal Abortion (20 of February 2019, photo by N. Pisarenko) Available in  https://elpais.com/sociedad/2019/02/19/actualidad/1550608297_024470.html

The struggle for ‘legal, safe and free abortion’ in Argentina took shape in 2005 within the Campaign for the Right to Legal Abortion. More than 70 women organizations mobilized all the country with the slogan ‘Sexual education to decide, contraceptives to not abort, legal abortion to not die’. The claim is asking for an integral work, requiring that the State modifies the Education, Health, Security, and Justice Systems (Senado y Cámara de Diputados, Proyecto de Ley Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo, 2019). Larger cultural changes in society are also on the agenda of the women’s movement. Sexual and reproductive rights are human rights and the women’s Campaign in Argentina supports that they should ‘be recognised as a basic right for all’; hence, the universal access to the public health systems must be guaranteed, considering that abortion is healthcare. The following article reviews the historical background of the abortion legal framework in Argentina until the current efforts in the Congress. The 19th of February is the first massive call in 2020 of pro-choice movement around the country for the abortion legislation.  

A brief history of Abortion in the Argentinian Criminal Code

Abortion was criminalised within the law since 1921, established in the Argentinian Criminal Code articles 85, 86, 87 and 88. It should be mentioned that, while articles 85, 87 and 88 are enlisting the different abortion offence figures and its respective penalties, article 86 references health professionals’ punishments. The abortion, performed by a qualified medical practitioner, is not punishable when:

1. If it has been done to avoid endangering the life or health of the or mother's and if this danger cannot be avoided in other ways.

2. If the pregnancy is the result of rape or is an attack to a disabled woman. In the second case, the consent from the legal representative will be needed to perform the abortion.  

There was a debate about these two clauses, modified with more restrictive specifications during the military dictatorship (1976 – 1983). However, an important fact happened in 2012, known as the failure ‘F.A.L’: The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación, CSJN), hereinafter mentioned as the Court, recognised the right of every women victim of rape to interrupt the pregnancy. Moreover, the Court emphasised on the State obligation to give access to a fast, accessible and safe abortion procedure for such cases. The ‘F.A.L’ also opened the debate of how the role of practitioners that would not perform an abortion because of their own beliefs -also called ‘conscientious objectors’ for some health sectors. The Court expressed the compulsory guarantee to the right to abortion access.   

Another turning point was the publication in 2015 of a ‘Protocol to an Integral Attention to People with the Right to a Legal Interruption of Pregnancy’-that mentions being applicable only in the cases that the Criminal Code mentions. However, the protocol lacks ministry support, nor was there adequate implementation   strategy across the country. An interesting point from that document is the recognition of gender and sexual minorities. In the publication of 2016, there is the specification about the possibility of ‘trans males to be framed in the grounds of Article 86 of the Criminal Code’ and having ‘the right to receive the same attention as women, adolescents and girls’. The renewed publication of 2019 goes further in the interpretation of the Article 86, in terms of using an inclusive language, while mentioning that the right corresponds to ‘all the people with the capacity of getting pregnant’ and specifying ‘girls, teenagers, women, men, trans people, non-binary people, inter alia.  

The Campaign movement and the ‘Choice on Termination Pregnancy’ project

The National Campaign for the Right to a Safe, Legal and Free Abortion (Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al Aborto Legal Seguro y Gratuito), hereinafter the Campaign, was decided by more than 20.0000 women who were gathered in the XIX National Meeting of Women held in Mendoza in 2004. Thus, they decided to start the Campaign on the 28th of May (2005), the International Day of Action for Women’s Health, through more than 70 women organizations from all around the country. The Campaign elaborated a legal project for the ‘Choice on Termination Pregnancy’ (Proyecto de Ley Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo) and presented it for the first time in 2007 to the Chamber of Deputies. 

2018, a successful year

The ‘Choice on Termination Pregnancy’ project was presented for the seventh time in 2018. That year the social mobilization pro-choice was multitudinous, with the first pañuelazo on the 19th of February, covering green over one hundred cities around the country. It was the first time that the Executive Power included abortion in the legislative agenda and the Argentinian parliament opened the discussion.

Another interesting point was the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women -the UN body that monitors the implementation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)-, published the Concluding observations on the seventh periodic report of Argentina on the 23rd of November 2018. Thus, two paragraphs mention the need for a change in the abortion law in Argentina: 

9. The Committee urges the State party to initiate accountability procedures to ensure that all provinces approve protocols on the practice of non-punishable abortion, in line with the decision of the Supreme Court in 2012 and the national protocol for the comprehensive care of persons entitled to legal interruption of pregnancy (see CEDAW/C/ARG/CO/7, para. 33(b)) and to accelerate the adoption of the bill for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy increasing legal access to abortion, not only in cases of rape and risk to the life or health of the pregnant woman but also other circumstances such as incest and when there is a risk of severe fetal impairment (CEDAW/C/ARG/CO/7, para. 33(d)).

While the Committee observations are not ‘binding’, it is an important move. Firstly, it gives legitimacy to the Campaign, not only for the recognition of sexual and reproductive rights as human rights but also to see abortion as a basic healthcare service; secondly, it resonates among the international community sphere and pushes the political agenda of Argentina to modify the legal framework. 


2019: a loud voice within the Argentine Chamber of Deputies

Protest in front of the Argentine congress during the International Day of Action for Women’s Health (28th of May 2019) Available at 

https://www.nacion.com/el-mundo/interes-humano/viene-un-nuevo-intento-para-legalizar-el-aborto-en/LGR7ZTRPXBDL3OSWE67IZVBYJI/story/

The ‘Choice on Termination Pregnancy’ project was presented for the eighth time before Congress, with 70 signatures from Members of the Parliament from different blocs. The 28th of May, in coincidence with the International Day of Action for Women’s Health, there was an event in Annex C of the Chamber of Deputies. There is a summary of the act in the Deputies of Argentina website.

Among the different voices that sounded during the act, highlight the following:

• Mónica Menini, a member of the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion, said that "we have come to demand a right that is a debt for women and that is a priority for public policies." She summarized: "It's a matter of human rights and social justice," 

• Romina Del Plá (Front Left and Workers) called for the urgent discussion of the text in Congress: "We don't have time to wait because women are still dying, we have to have it treated immediately", she said. "We have to use the advantage of the election year to make it clear who we are in favour of defending the lives of girls and women and those who are in favour of clandestine abortion," Del Plá added.

• Deputy Brenda Austin (UCR) considered that the bill "is the point of union between the green tide and the institution."

The project was discussed in the framework of the Deputies commissions, with more than 700 exhibitors and the debate lasted for four months. On June 13th there was a historic session of more than 23 hours of debate where it was approved with half sanction. However, on the 9th of August the initiative was rejected in the Senate. 

2020: the struggle continues

Practicing the choreography  "The Rapist Is You" with Las Tesis ( 17th of February 2020, photo by Nicolás Stulberg) Available at https://www.infobae.com/sociedad/2020/02/17/el-violador-sos-vos-la-version-argentina-para-exigir-aborto-legal-de-la-que-participo-claudia-pineiro/?outputType=amp-type

The 19th of February is the first pañuelazo of the 2020 and the Congress of the Nation of Argentina will be surrounded by a green tide; the protest piece of Las Tesis, "A Rapist in Your Path" - also known as "The Rapist Is You", will be performed loudly. The National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion, that this year is on the 15th anniversary, announced the following in a press release:

‘With the handkerchief up and hands together, we will be millions demanding the approval of a Law consistent with equitable access to integral health, equal care, Complete Sex Education and the secular State. Legal abortion is a debt of democracy. It is a claim of the feminist struggle that has set the future of millions of youths in the region, who demand more rights, freedom and autonomy’.

Choice on Termination Pregnancy’ project: core pints highlighted by the Chamber of Deputies

1. Civil society efforts: The bill was written by members of different regions of the National Campaign for the Right to Legal, Safe and Free Abortion. An articulation proposal was elaborated, which was then worked in each regional and agreed in a national plenary

2. Grounds for abortion and gestation time limits: The text establishes the right to voluntary termination of pregnancy (IVE) up to fourteen weeks, inclusive, of the gestational process. Meanwhile, it allows IVE in cases of unwanted or unwanted pregnancy, rape product, or that affects integral health.

3. Access timing: The IVE project also establishes that every woman or pregnant person will have the right to decide and access the practice of abortion within 5 days, in a health facility and without police or justice intervention.

4. Who can provide services and where can be performed: Among the main points of the project, it states that health personnel must report on the methods for abortion. This information must be "objective, relevant, accurate, reliable, accessible, scientific, up-to-date and secular.

5. Public sector coverage and Sexual Education at schools:  Likewise, the article establishes that both the public and private sectors must cover the practice 100%, as well as diagnostic, medication and therapy benefits. The text of the law also dictates that the curricular content on abortion "must be taught in public, private and social management schools as a right."

The Choice on Termination Pregnancy project is also very inclusive with sexual diversity rights. Article 3 defines that ‘women and other identities with the pregnancy capacity’ is a synonym of ‘women or pregnant person’. Moreover, article 12, which is about ‘Sexual and reproductive health policies and Complete Education’, references the compulsory training of public services in gender perspective and sexual diversity.

To conclude

The Argentina movement to legalize abortion, mainly within the Campaign, is very relevant and claims loudly to achieve abortion as a basic healthcare service. As said previously, it is important to recognize clearly, that sexual and reproductive rights are human rights. For that reason, the movement that stands for a legal, safe and free abortion, went from the streets to the Chamber of Deputies. The Choice on Termination Pregnancy project, even though pending approval, has some core points that can be used as an example in other legislation frameworks. The emerging LGBTI rights and the challenge to heterosexual and/or cisgender norms in Latin America are being addressed from several spheres and angles, being relevant for the sexual and reproductive rights improvements to be more inclusive. 

#AbortoLegal2020 #19F #ProyectoAbortoLegalYa

#QueSeaLey #Pañuelazo 

Bibliography

Argentinian Criminal Code, available in http://servicios.infoleg.gob.ar/infolegInternet/anexos/15000-19999/16546/texact.htm (in Spanish)

Campaña Nacional por el Derecho al Aborto Legal Seguro y Gratuito

http://www.abortolegal.com.ar/

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) ‘Concluding observations’ on the seventh periodic report of Argentina (23rd of November 2018) Available at:

https://undocs.org/CEDAW/C/ARG/CO/7/ADD.1

Protocolo para la atención integral de las personas con derecho a la interrupción legal del embarazo (2016) Available at

http://www.msal.gob.ar/images/stories/bes/graficos/0000000875cnt-protocolo_ile_octubre%202016.pdf (in Spanish)

Protocolo para la atención integral de las personas con derecho a la interrupción legal del embarazo (2019) Available at http://www.msal.gob.ar/images/stories/bes/graficos/0000001792cnt-protocolo-ILE-2019-2edicion.pdf (in Spanish) 

Senado y Cámara de Diputados, Proyecto de Ley Interrupción Voluntaria del Embarazo (2019) Available at:

https://www.hcdn.gob.ar/export/hcdn/prensa/PDF/PROYECTO_DE_LEY_INTERRUPCIxN_VOLUNTARIA_DEL_EMBARAZO_2810-D-2019.pd

Summary of the Legislative debate about the Legal Abortion Project

(May 28, 2019) Available at:

https://www.diputados.gob.ar/prensa/noticias/noticias-podio/noticias_1038.html (in Spanish)