الثلاثاء، 21 يونيو 2016

Why can’t women on the Isle of Man get an abortion where they live? | Suzy Holland

The island’s law on terminations is unfair and unreasonable. We want equality with the UK so women can access abortions on the NHS

Popular opinion has the Isle of Man – that’s the island in the Irish Sea, not the one in the English Channel – stuck firmly in the 1950s. But you might be surprised by how progressive this self-governing crown dependency actually is: we gave women the vote long before the UK; 16-year-olds have been voting here since 2006; and our chief minister, the equivalent to the UK prime minister, is openly gay. We are progressive, that is, except when it comes to abortion.

The Isle of Man’s Termination of Pregnancy Act of 1995 was loosely based on the UK’s 1967 Abortion Act, which legalised abortions by registered practitioners. However, this act includes restrictions that mean although abortion is legal in some limited circumstances, in practice it’s a difficult and lengthy process. So much so, that last year, according to figures from the UK Department of Health, 105 women travelled from the island to Britain to terminate pregnancies. Others were forced to break the law by buying illegal tablets on the internet and risk prosecution.

It is shocking that women are forced to make decisions about their reproductive health based on their bank balance

Related: Isle of Man abortion campaigners aim to catch up to 1960s UK

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from Pregnancy | The Guardian http://ift.tt/28MngQ6

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