Force TUC to tight anti abortion Bill!

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DAY OF ACTION Massive demonstration for abortion rights earlier this year The utter contempt of the Labour leadership for women's rights was ably expressed last Friday in the miserable 98 votes rallied against the latest Tory anti-abortion Bill.

John Corrie's Private Members Bill, which plans to drastically restrict • women's right to legal abortion, swept through its second reading with a thumping 144 majority.

Opposed Among those supporting it was former Labour leader Sir Harold Wilson. But Callaghan too had done his bit to ensure it a safe passage.

At the previous week's Parliamentary Labour Party meeting he had opposed plans by 'left' MPs Oonagh MacDonald and Jo Richardson to 'filibuster' the Corrie Bill off the order paper by talking through the night on the preceeding business.

Callaghan announced that he was concerned that Labour should not be seen as taking an official "pro-abortion" line.

And in the event the "filibuster' failed to get off the ground.

The miserable turn out of Labourites to oppose Corrie's reactionary plans certainly leaves no room for anyone to conclude that the Labour leadership favour even defending the existing, inadequate, rights to abortion.

Fifth attempt

With the Third Reading of the Bill due in September and a hefty Tory majority in Parliament only the most concerted effort by the labour movement can hope to forestall this, the fifth attempt to restrict the 1967 Abortion Act.

PHOTO: Andrew Wiard, Report Callaghan medical tests for foetal abnormality cannot be carried out in early pregnancy.

Also cases of German Measles may not be detected or even occur until late in the first three months.

Other circumstances may also change-but it is all the more agonising for those women who are forced to seek late in addition, in some areas women legally entitled to early abortions are obstructed by anti-abortion doctors and the lack of NHS facilities.

The Corrie Bill also insists that at least one doctor referring a patient for abortion has been in practice for five years. This is not required for any other operation.

The final blow is that all referral and counselling agencies must be registered.

This is a blow to the charitable agencies as well as free support groups provided by NAC and women's groups, since they would find it difficult if not impossible to register. It would require extra finance.

Workers must demand that in the face of this dire threat to women's rights the TUC immediately put into practice the motion passed at the 1978 TUC Women's Conference:

"In line with TUC and TUC Women's Conference policy for a woman's right to choose and against restrictive legislation on abortion, this conference calls upon the Women's Advisory Committee to press the General Council to support campaigns:

a) for amending legislation with a view to improving the existing facilities available through the NHS.

b) for publicity and education to extend contraceptive knowledge; for early pregnancy diagnosis; skilled counselling; outpatient abortion clinics free on the NHS; and against any further restrictive legislation whether by government or private members bill.

Council also calls upon the General Council to organise a national demonstration against any restrictive legislation before a final vote is taken on it in Parliament, so that MPs are aware of the weight of feeling in the labour movement against such legislation. " (Our emphasis).

Resolutions

Supporters must at once put resolutions through their union branches to go to their National Executives instructing the TUC to carry out the Women's TUC policy.

Corrie And within the Labour Party the fight must be taken up against those reactionary MPs that absented themselves from the debate last Friday or even supported Corrie's mediaeval attempts to restrict women's rights.

GMCs must call their MPs to account, and call also on the Labour Party NEC to demand a three line whip on Labour MPs to oppose the Corrie Bill on its Third Reading.

Those MPs that declare themselves in favour of such a struggle must also be pressed to launch a campaign for the removal of the reactionary Callaghan-Healey leadership that clearly opposed the slightest, fight for women's rights.

LANIE CANAS •001 from:

BACKS ABORTIONS

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