Open letter calls for abortion support
Repeal Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Persons Act.
Following the referendum to repeal the 8th Amendment in the Republic of Ireland last year, women in Northern Ireland will soon be the only women in the UK and Ireland who cannot access abortion when they need to.
In Northern Ireland, abortion is prohibited even in cases of rape and incest. The punishment is life in prison.
The London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign has teamed up with some incredible individuals and organisations to ask the Conservative Leadership candidates to pledge to support women’s access to free, safe and legal abortion care across the United Kingdom – including Northern Ireland – by pledging to hold a parliamentary vote on repealing sections 58 and 59 of the Offences against the Person Act 1861.
This Offences against the Person Act (OAPA) is the Act that criminalises abortion.
Once it has been repealed, women in the UK will no longer face prison for making individual choices about their own reproductive needs.
In an open letter to all Conservative leadership candidates, campaigners and supporters call on Westminster to repeal Sections 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Persons Act. This will decriminalise abortion across the UK, including Northern Ireland.
Dear Conservative Leadership Candidates,
For too long, the human rights of women in Northern Ireland have been a bargaining chip for political power. We are asking you to make sure our voices are finally heard and our rights finally equal to all other women in the UK.
Abortion in Northern Ireland is effectively banned. The punishment is life in prison. There is no exception for rape.
The United Nations has said the law is ‘tantamount to torture‘.
The Supreme Court has said the law is in need of ‘radical reconsideration’.
28 women a week are forced to make the lonely journey away from Northern Ireland to access abortion, away from their support networks. Some cannot travel due to domestic abuse or insecure immigration status. Some take the risk of ordering illegal pills online.
It has been 50 years since the Abortion Act 1967 passed in England and Wales and Scotland. Stormont has not sat for over two years.
The next Prime Minister will have the opportunity to right this wrong and restore the UK’s standing as a beacon of human rights. It is Westminster legislation that holds back our future.
That’s why we’re calling on you to pledge to ensure that every woman in the UK has equal access to safe, legal, free and local abortion services.
You can do this by pledging that under your leadership parliament will hold a vote on whether to repeal section 58 and 59 of the Offences Against the Persons Act 1861.
Be the Prime Minister who shows they trust women.
Be the Prime Minister who believes in treating all women equally.
Above all be the Prime Minster who will not ignore us. We cannot wait any longer.
We will not wait any longer.
Yours sincerely,
The London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign
Amnesty International
Bronagh Waugh
Siobhan Mc Sweeney
Laura Donnelly
Phoebe Waller-Bridge
Anne Enright
Sharon Horgan
Fergal Sharkey
Laura Whitmore
Adrian Dunbar
Stacey Dooley
Aisling Bea
Deborah Frances-White
Sara Pascoe
Konnie Huq
Roisin Conaty
Scarlet Curtis
Phill Jupitus
Bridget Christie
Morgan Lloyd Malcolm
Andrew Maxwell
Grace Petrie
Samuel West
Susan Wokoma
Ellen Jones
Elizabeth Day
Josie Naughton
Antonia Cundy
Alice Aedy
Gabby Edlin
Hayley Atwell
Sian Clifford
Laura Wade
Sindhu Vee
Rachel Parris
You can follow the London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign on Twitter @LdnIrishARC, and help ask the Conservative leadership candidates to pledge to have a vote on abortion in Northern Ireland. #NowForNI