ISSUES
: Abortion
Chapter 2: Abortion debate
32
This strategy is widely used in the
US, putting onerous regulations
on abortion providers that make
running abortion services more
difficult. This has led to clinics
closing. Pro-life groups have
successfully
blocked
access
to abortions without having to
directly ban abortion itself.
The same tactic is now clearly being
used in the UK. If campaigners can
restrict abortion for this reason,
they will simply move to the next.
Domestic violence
Women being coerced into
terminating a pregnancy on the
basis of the foetus’s sex is a serious
issue. But we need to be clear that
this is not a reproductive health
issue, it is domestic violence.
In many cases, women living with
this form of domestic violence
will simply not disclose that foetal
sex is the reason for the abortion.
No doctor can legally carry out
an abortion if a woman has not
given her consent, so if a woman
did disclose coercion it could not
take place. Banning sex-selective
abortion is highly unlikely to be the
solution to this problem.
The supporters of this ban suggest
that
outlawing
sex-selective
abortion is sending an important
message to specific communities
that it is wrong to discriminate
against baby girls. Yet it will do
nothing to really help.
Although it may seem counter-
intuitive, supporters of women’s
rights need to oppose the banning
of sex-selective abortion. This
campaign has nothing to do with
ending gender discrimination. It is
a strategy of the pro-life movement
to reduce women’s access to
abortion more generally. While the
continuing discrimination against
women which leads to coercive
abortion for gender reasons is a
serious problem, you cannot end
gender oppression by placing new
restrictions on women’s lives.
26 January 2015
Ö
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reprinted with kind permission
from
The Conversation
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Trust (UK)
Pro-life group: Scotland will become
abortion tourist destination if
termination laws are changed
A
pro-life group has claimed
that Scotland will become an
abortion tourist destination
if the laws around termination are
changed.
The Don’t Stop A Beating Heart
campaign, which opposes any
extension to the current UK
termination laws, made the claim
as it raised concerns over plans
to devolve abortion legislation to
Holyrood.
Campaigners have urged Nicola
Sturgeon to use the new powers to
decriminalise abortion. However,
the First Minister has said she has
no plans to amend the laws around
terminations.
A new campaign, called We Trust
Women, has now been launched
by the British Pregnancy Advisory
Service, calling for the current
legislation to be changed. It has
been backed by groups including
the Royal College of Midwives,
Fawcett Society, Maternity Action
and End Violence Against Women.
A spokeswoman for Don’t Stop A
Beating Heart said: “The reality is
that women are often pressurised
to have an abortion – abolishing
abortion law will mean more
pressure on women in Scotland to
submit to abortion, and less real
support for pregnant mothers.
“Already, well in advance of the
transfer of legislative authority,
we are hearing a clamour for
further extension of the existing
excessively liberal law. This could
