Fight White's Bill

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A system which forces a woman to endure 9 months of pregnancy to produce an unwanted child, or forces her to be defended by the most reactionary right-wingers.

The responsibility of bearing a child is one which remains with the woman, drastically altering her life, for many years to come. She therefore must have complete freedom to decide whether or not to go through with a pregnancy, and safe abortion facilities must be provided by the National Health Service.

Steel's Abortion Act was a limited gain in this field and must be defended against the attacks of James White's reactionary amendment, which attempts, through whipping up middle class and religious hysteria over the 'rights of the foetus' to severely restrict the conditions under which the NHS can carry out abortions.

For instance a victim of rape would have to carry through a resulting pregnancy to full term unless evidence of abnormality in the foetus is produced. At the same time it seeks to turn sympathetic doctors away from performing abortions by the threat of assuming them guilty and putting the onus on them to prove themselves innocent.

James White is a Labour MP -sent to Parliament by the Glasgow working class. Yet he links up with most reactionary elements of the ruling class to maintain the role of woman as permanent child-bearer and to further increase the burdens of working class families as they fight against the attacks on their standard of living and jobs by the employers.

This move must fought through the organisations of the working class - the trade unions, and through the Labour Party. Demands must be made on the trade union leaders to take up a real fight on this issue and not just leave it on the level of abstract talk - Clive Jenkins says he believes in the individual's right to full control over their own body - is he leading a fight for NHS abortions on demand?

The National Abortion Campaign is campaigning against White's amendment by holding public meetings and fund-raising garden parties around the country, and urging women to petition their MPs and convince 'prominent people'. The campaign is strictly defensive - to defend the status quo of existing legislation. We say that this is in no way an issue simply for women but that the whole of the working class would be affected by this reactionary measure.

The class nature of this attack must be clearly identified - it is not as seen by the Women's Liberation Movement and the NAC, simply a matter of men restricting the rights of women but the bourgeois state maintaining the oppression of working class women in the family unit. The privileged bourgeoisie will of course continue to be able to purchase their abortions, as they did before 1967 and as they do now in Italy where abortion is a crime.

The call by the National Abortion Campaign for a national rally on Juae 21st at 2.30 from the Victoria Embankment must however be supported. The WSL in supporting this rally, does so as an indep endent body supporting the fight to defend the gains of the present Abortion Law, but fighting to secure the unconditional right to abortion as a part of the fight of the working class against the capitalist state.

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from the right wing of the Lab- "moderates" include such exation" and "social justice" our leadership. Anthony Cros- treme right wingers as Roy 'extreme "incomes policv" and talked of new AUEW General Secretary.

Jack Jones' latest scheme ation" and "social justice" was announced with delight was announced with delight by the Tory press last week- by the Tory press last weekend.

Jones is calling for flat rate was increases below the increase in the cost of living, and a deal between the TUC and the CBI in order to "fight inflation".

This, like the document for discussion at Wednesday's economic committee of the TUC, (calling for autumn's pay increases to be "negotiated' lower than the current rate of price increases) ignores completely the fact that inflation in relation to wages and prices is now acting in the interests of the employers.

PRICES

Soaring prices slash the value of all wage settlements as soon as Jack Jones they are won, and erode the value of even the largest settlements. Far from wishing to prevent this the employers have clamoured continuously for an end to all price controls - to give them free rein to raise the cost of living through the roof.

At the same time as the TUC EA and Jones move in this way and Jones move in this way openly against workers' living openly against workers' living standards, they find support standards, they find support from the right wing of the Labour leadership. Anthony Crosland, Environment Secretary, land, Environment Secretary, called at the weekend for an called at the weekend for an "incomes policy" and talked of "Britain's [ie British capitalism's] suicide course" , in a speech which centred on threatening unemployment to those workers who refuse to settle for cuts in living standards.

"EXTREMISTS"

Yet if we listened to the Tory Press, we might think all these leaders are not right-wingers, but "moderates" , and all those who oppose them were "extremists" '. [As if 400,000 NALGO workers, or the NUR were all "extremists"!] Education Minister Reg Prentice, with the encouragement of the press, and Tories Margaret Thatcher and Sir Geoffrey Howe, is now emerging as the High Priest of "moderation" , but other claimed Jenkins and Shirley Williams, and, in the unions, John Boyd JAILING What is remarkable about these "moderates" is the extrer. anti-working class measures they favour. Prentice actively supports the jailing of pickets (dockers in 1972, and now the Shrewsbury Two), surcharges on the Clay Cross councillors, public spending cuts which are throwing thousands more on tr the dole, and cuts in the Healt! Service and Education which threaten the lives and future development of workers and their families. All this "moderation" goes on for the sole purpose of defendine private profit, while those who chall- profit, while those who challenge the employers' right to enge the employers' right to create unemployment and create unemployment and cut living standards are branded cut living standards are branded 'extreme'.

The TUC proposals must be The TUC proposals must be thrown out with contempt and thrown out with contempt and the interests of the working the interests of the working class defended through the struggle for full compensation for the rising cost of living through a sliding scale of wages to be incorporated in all agreements on top and by no means instead of big pay increases. The only answer to inflation is not wage control under capitalism, but a planned socialist economy based on the nationalisation of basic industry. The extreme right wing must be exposed and replaced by a leadership prepared to fight for these policies, and to defend the •basic class interests of workers against the employer.

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risk the dangers of the 'back- street abortionist, can only

to impoverish his member- ship in the name of "moder-