Nac Must Reject 'separatist' Move

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After the success of the campaign against John Corrie's anti-abortion Bill, the National Abortion Campaign is trying to set its own house in order and work out just what its attitude to the womens liberation movement and the labour movement should be.

The agenda for its conference on May 17-18 includes a discussion of the question of women's autonomy and separatism.

The womens liberation movement argues that abortion and child rearing are something that only women can underThey go on from this to demand that only women should organise campaigns on the abortion issue-regardless of their politics.

This not only excludes sympathetic men from playing an active role in fighting abortion restrictions, but also implies that the sole reason why abortion is restricted is because men hold most positions of power.

This the fact that abortion is also a class issue-an attack on working class women (who wouldn't have the money to go to a private clinic if abortion was made illegal and who can't afford private medicine if an NHS hospital won't take them).

Obviously attacks on abortion rights are an example of both sexual oppression of women and of the generalised attacks on the working class.

The question is how to fight for free abortion on demand and a woman's right to choose about abortion-and all the other issues that affect her.

The womens liberation movement sees any move towards the trade unions and the labour movement as a compromise of the principle of woman-organised campaigning.

But the fact remains that with abortion as with jobs, nurseries, adequate maternity grants and leave, health care and the free NHS-all the things women need to have any choice about the way they live--the fight can only be waged successfully through the mobilisation of the organised labour movement.

Consciousness have been important to sonne women to talk about issues like sexism or rape.

But when it comes to fighting for democratic rights and welfare services in the face of a vicious Tory government, only campaigns with the organised strength of the labour movement to back them, will get anywhere.

If NAC is going to rule out working with the trade unions and reject any involvement of men, then, who will support working women next time the Tories put up an anti-abortion Bill or when NHS abortions become even more restricted because of the cuts?

• The fight will have to be taken up in the labour movement with or without NAC. Serious. campaigners for abortion rights should therefore reject the dangerous arguments of the womens liberation movement and confront the tough but not insoluble problems of mobilising the labour movement in conflict with its bureaucratic leaders in the struggle against a Tory government already hellbent on destroying existing hard won rights of women.