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Reacuonary attempts to curtail the rights of women to have abortions received a boost on February 25th when Tory MP. Willin Benyon's restrictive Abortion (Amendment) Bill received its second reading in the House of Commons. It was passed by 170 votes. against 132, a majority of 38; it only got through because 46 Labour MPs almost half of them Scottish, defied official Labour Party Conference policy, and in many cases the policy of their sponsoring Trade Union, by voting for the Bill. Most other Scottish MPs including Margaret Bain of the SNI. also supported the Bill, The Bill's proposals include:
Shortening the period in which a legal abortion may he performed from the first 28 to the first 20 weeks of pregnancy:
Requiring 2 doctors with five years experience each, and not working in the same practice, to give consent for an abortion to take place.
Compulsory licencing of abortion advisory services.
The shortening by two monks of the period in which a pregnancy may be terminated plays straight into the hands of anti-abortion gy naccologists to use delaying tactics to prevent women having abortions. It is farcical that the two doctors signing permission for the operation must lave five years practical medical experience: this applies in no other branch of medicine!
Ofall the proposes, the one concerning licensing of advisory centres and clinics would have the most far-reaching consequences for working class women. Many women who are refused abortions on the NHS mainly in West and Central Scotlind where local GPs and hospital gynaecologists are largely antFabortion use the services of arencies: like BPAS and PAS.
The Bill's proposals would not only make it casier for GPs and synaccologists to refuse abortions, bat would also make the job of the referral agencies more difficult; indeed. in many cases, thicy may result in their closure. If they become law, working class women will once main he confronted with the choice of raising children they don| want or resorting to the services of buckstreet abortionists, with all the resulting risk to their health. No such problem, of course, would confront middle class women: for those with money there have always been private practitioners willing to do abortions at a price principles or no!
The Bill's message is loud and clears misery and death for workine class women: sofc. casy abortion for the rich. It must be stopped!
EVE OLDHAM (Glascow NAC)
For information on the Scottish National Abortion Campaien, contact NAC. clo: Women's centre. 57 Miller Street, Gliscow.
The following Scottish Labour MPs defied party policy to support the Benson Bill Richard Buchanan (Glasgow Springburn, NUR, Tom MeMfillen (Glasgow Central, NUR). lan Campbell (Dunbartonshire West. TGWU), John Smith (North Lanarkshire. GWU). Alex Hadie (Midlothian, VUM). Adam Hunter (Dunfermline, NUM). Alexander Wilson (Hamilton, NUM), Harry Swing (Stirling, UPW), James Hamilton (Bothwell, AUEW), William Smalt (Glasgow Garscodden, AUEW), Frank McElhone (Glasgow Queen's Park, USDAW), Jeremy Bray (Motherwell), Dennis Cancian (Stirlingshire West). Jim Craigen (Glasgow Maryhill), Tom Dalyell /West Lothian). James Dempser (Cootbridge and Airdrie), Dickson Mabon (Greenock and Port Glasgow). Gregor MeKenzie (Ruthergien), James Whire (Glasgow Pollok).