Security is about several things; Security to have access to services at all – so not the whole series of abusive protesters on the way to the clinic! Safety refers to scientifically accurate and non-directive counselling services, as we know from many people who mislead and frighten women in order to prevent them from accessing abortion. Although the law has been amended, it is important to understand the need to support groups in Northern Ireland who do not have access to free, safe, local and legal abortions. Legal is because criminality – however rarely used but latent criminal sanctions such as the 1861 Act in England and Wales – means criminalising vulnerable people rather than getting easier access to the health services they need. It is still illegal to access abortion pills online in England and Wales, but instead of trying to punish people who do, we should ask ourselves why they are not getting the healthcare they need and deserve from the NHS. Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 criminalised doctors and abortion seekers in England, Wales and Northern Ireland with penalties up to “slavery for life”. This remained in effect until the 1967 Abortion Act allowed legal conduct of abortions under certain circumstances, even though it was not fully decriminalized. However, unlike England and Wales (and Scotland, where abortions were previously illegal under common law), the 1967 Act did not apply to Northern Ireland. There were no exceptions for rape or fetal abnormality and few women qualified under the strict long-term health risk criterion to legally have access to abortion. Launched in 2001, Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN) is a national initiative that brings together federal, state, local, and tribal law enforcement officials, prosecutors, community leaders, and other stakeholders to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in a community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them.
The PSN is coordinated by the U.S. Attorneys` Office in the 94 federal court districts in all 50 U.S. states and territories. The NHP is tailored to respond to local violent crime issues and resources. In all districts, the NHP pursues four key elements of successful initiatives to reduce violent crime: community engagement, prevention and intervention, targeted and strategic law enforcement, and accountability. Our position is that abortion is health care. It must be free and safe; Inclusive and intersectional – and we need to give people autonomy over their bodies and decisions. Abortion is often portrayed by the political right as a niche feminist issue.
However, we know that in the UK, one in three women will have at least one abortion in her lifetime. Unsafe abortion remains one of the leading causes of death among pregnant women worldwide, according to the United Nations. Unfettered access to safe abortion has long been a fundamental human right and the cornerstone of equality. “After decriminalization, we still live in a culture where public debate is dominated by an anti-minority choice. Local media have published anti-choice articles on a daily basis, radio and television falsely “balance” their coverage by continuing to invite the most fundamentalist views to broadcast. The media opposes Alliance for Choice to dogmatic and extremist positions and creates an environment of hostility, so pro-choice health professionals and civil society leaders are afraid to speak publicly about supporting changes in abortion access. Our cultural projects are an important part of creating community and a sense of belonging, allowing activists and potential activists to understand issues at the heart and head level, as well as at the legal and legislative level. Nine unelected judges, three of whom were appointed by Donald Trump, are about to decide the fate of hundreds of millions of Americans this summer. We cannot allow this to happen.
As Samuel Alito`s draft opinion makes clear, the court will most likely succeed in Roe v. Wade, which has legalized abortion in every state since its passage in 1973. This decision will be a disaster for millions of Americans and will hit the poor, working people, and working class people of color particularly hard. In response, we must build a movement of struggle to defend the right to abortion and achieve national legislation that guarantees the right to free, safe, legal and accessible abortion to all who want it. Free, safe, legal, local: this is the motto of Alliance for Choice, a grassroots feminist organisation in Northern Ireland that defends pregnant women`s right to freedom of choice. Free from stigma or harm. The north and south of Ireland remained in an abortion abyss. Women had to travel to England or find illegal and often harmful ways to terminate their pregnancies at home. It is estimated that at least 65,000 abortion seekers have travelled from Northern Ireland to England since 1970; others went to Spain and the Netherlands. Potentially thousands of other pills accessible online. For international orders, customs duties are not included at checkout and all fees must be paid to your local postal service upon arrival.
One of the most important things that continues to emerge within the pro-choice movement is the need for continued pressure, both at the societal and government levels, to ensure free, safe, legal and local access for all pregnant people. Abortion is health care: it must be free and safe; inclusive and intersectional. Join us and fight! Eventually, the movement secured robust and responsive abortion legislation that takes us beyond the scattered provisions of the 1967 abortion law to ensure positive rights to gender equality education, as well as freedom from harassment and sex education. Due to border closures and lockdown restrictions, COVID-19 is increasingly causing challenges for people seeking abortions. And now, with the appalling result of Roe v. Wade in the United States, it is more important than ever to fight back and demand free, safe, legal and local abortions for everyone who requests them. “As we see the rise of populism and the right, we are also seeing a setback in policies that protect women`s right to bodily autonomy, including in countries like Macedonia, Slovakia and Italy. It is important that we show solidarity with these countries, not only in terms of voices, but also in terms of resources, including by giving money to organisations that fight against these regressive policies. There are many, but two I admire are Abortion Support Network and Women on Web.
Helen Stonehouse Okay, I admit, I`m not going to walk anywhere this year for International Safe Abortion Day. Maybe I`ll do a few laps in the garden. Wallis Grant of the London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign explains the gist as follows: Emma Campbell is a co-organiser of the Alliance for Choice (AfC) and a PhD student at the University of Ulster. Emma Campbell of the Alliance for Choice said, in the specific context of Northern Ireland: On 26 May 2021, the ministry launched a violent crime reduction strategy that strengthens the NSP, building on reformulated core principles: promote trust and legitimacy in our communities, support community-based organizations that help prevent violence in the first place, Establish targeted and strategic enforcement priorities and measure the results of our efforts. And the ministry explicitly emphasizes that the fundamental goal of this work is to reduce violent crime in the places we call home, not to increase arrests or prosecutions as if it were an end in itself. Shado spoke with industry experts to find out what the movement`s biggest challenges are and what pro-choice movements are coming in 2020. In October 2019, there was a historic verdict in Northern Ireland: after a long struggle, abortion was decriminalised. However, there is still a long way to go, both within the country and beyond, before the fight is over.
A similar need for sustained pressure must also be seen in the context of other pro-choice and women`s rights movements around the world, with particular attention to the rise of right-wing conservative movements around the world. Grant discusses exactly this point: Recently, NI Health Secretary Robin Swann and other lawmakers spoke out against anti-Vax protesters outside vaccination centers, but they remained silent about the same abortion clinics. Many of these protesters are the same people, our aim is to counter all this negativity with a visible public campaign of support to remind everyone that Northern Ireland supports the right to vote. That`s why shado, in collaboration with artist Natalie Byrne and individuals in the UK and Ireland, has developed a unique t-shirt campaign to let people know that changing the law is not enough. shado stands in solidarity with the Alliance for Choice and pro-choice movements around the world to publicly and proudly play a role in supporting the right to vote. This is a campaign developed by @shado.mag in support of Alliance for Choice and the rights of pregnant women around the world. A problem of complacency, although not specific to the pro-abortion case, exists within movements and the public consciousness: the idea that once a law is passed and laws are changed, the battle is won.