Nac Tribunal - Aist Jamboree Refora

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The National Abortion Campaign, the IMG's "Mass one issue campaign" has turned into a reformist ginger group.

Final confirmation of this came at the National Tribunal on Abortion Rights Day of Evidence which took place last Saturday, January 29th, in Central Hall, Westminster.

Five to six hundred gathered together to hear about the effects of the 1967 Act; what it was nke before and therefore what it will be like if abortion is restricted again; the situation internationally and the problems in trying to obtain an abortion on the NHS due to the inadequacy of the 1967 Abortion Act.

Even within the limits of this one issue it would have been possible to discuss concrete action which could widen the area of struggle for abortion on demand on the NHS.

But instead it was kept to abortion with no "diversion" onto cuts or women's rights or the fact abortion is a class issue.

We were told by an NUT member who was giving the "trade union side" of the issue that we would not get support from the Trade Unions in any concrete way because most of the active trade unionists are men. In her view it was "time for the NAC to take the issues out of the Trade Unions and onto the streets"

But in most people's experience once the NAC won the verbal support for abortion on demand from the TUC they stopped fighting in the union movement as they had "their support"; instead they should have used the victory at the TUC to force the bureaucracy to do something instead of just talking.

Also, as long as abortion 15 kept to the issue of "a woman's right to choose" it is difficult to see how it can be fought through in the trade union movement.

The only speaker who put abortion into its context as a class issue was the speaker from Chile who was talking in the international section..

Tess Gill who was speaking from the Abortion Law Reform Association gave details of the law they would like implemented, the complications in formulating a law and the ensuing battle to get it through parliament gave a clear indication that it would be a lot easier to overthrow the bourgeois state than reform it!

The nearest thing resembling a constructive task put forward by this interesting abortion jamboree was for each delegate to lobby their MP, by letter or in person, to get them to vote against the William Benyon Bill!

There will also be demonstrations and meetings to correspond to the vote on the Bill's second reading. But it was made quite clear that this is a one issue campaign.

In no way does the NAC relate it to the class struggle, leaving it restricted to what one speaker called the "pro-choice movement"

Women of the world unite and choose!?