DIY abortion amendment: Write to your MP now
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Dear
SPUC supporter,
The Government’s decision to scrap the DIY abortion scheme was very welcome. However, the abortion lobby and their allies in Parliament are not giving up without a fight.
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Healthcare bill hijacked
Last Thursday, Baroness Sugg tabled an amendment to the Health and Care Bill which would do just that. Despite opposition from the Government, it was approved by peers in a vote that took place after 1am, by 75 votes to 45.
The amendment (now Clause 184 of the Health and Care Bill) will now be passed to the Commons. We expect it to be considered by MPs shortly after the House of Commons returns from recess on Tuesday 19 April. If the amendment passes through the Commons, it will be written into law.
(I know there’s been a lot of fast changing developments around this policy – this blogpost “What’s happening with DIY abortion” should clear up any confusion!)
Please urgently contact your MP, asking him/her to oppose Clause 184 and to vote against it.
Your letter or email need only be brief. Here are some points you can include:
- The Government has decided, following examination of all the evidence, not to make home abortion provision permanent. This should not be overturned by a small number of Peers hijacking an unrelated bill
- We were promised that this measure would be temporary. Now that other pandemic-era measures have ended, so should this
- 70% of respondents to the public consultation called for the home abortion scheme to be ended immediately. The democratic voice of the people should be respected
- 45% of the group of women who had accessed abortion service during the pandemic and had used both abortion pills felt that there were benefits in relation to safeguarding and women’s safety in requiring at least one visit to a service to be assessed by a clinician, (as opposed to 22% saying that there would be disadvantages). Proponents of DIY abortion say we should listen to women, so why are they ignoring women who actually went through this?
You can also add your concerns on the dangers of the DIY abortion policy.
What if I live in Wales or Scotland?
You can still write to your MP, as they represent you in Parliament, and will have the right to vote on this. However, to influence policy in your own area, you should write to your MSP/MS. Following the announcement by the Welsh Government, we have four suggested actions for supporters in Wales.Â
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Please write to your MP now. This amendment must be voted down, so that the reckless and deadly DIY abortion policy can be consigned to history, where it belongs.
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Best wishes,
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Alithea Williams
Public Policy Manager
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PS - please send us any replies you get from MPs!
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