Trade Union Liaison Committee WE BELIEVE NAC's success comes from its focus on clear demands on the state. The 1967 Abortion Act does not give us choice as a right, but it was a tremendous step forward and must be defended from continued attacks.
We believe it must be extended, that a facilities Act is imperative if all women are to be able to choose whether and when to have children.
Such a bill will not be banning sterilisation as a passed by a Tory condition for abortion ment, but might were essental Darts or ur Labour if sufficient public demand for reedom of mounted. We choice, the latter occausc nave hardly started to of the genocidal attitudes work to get mass support of the state towards black for a Woman's Right to women.
Choose bill. The law recognises the The demand remains need for contraception to radical because ne freely available, that challenges the state's con- abortion and sterilisation trol women, must be separated and a makes abortion crime woman must consent that women commit and makes women parliament is concerneconomically dependent. ed, is the need in law for It has still to be achieved freely available abortion. and the need for it has not The Lucil! and practice gone away. regarding the right not to NAC understood early be sterilised and the right on that contraception and to contraception certainly Contributors to the debate have explained how we do not take on the difterent situations that various women are in. We agree that there are many aspects of women's lives that must be changed. We believe that the most successiu way to ao so is in a variety of campaigns, each working out its demands and how to achieve them.
for the liberation movement to bring these together. Pressure If NAC tries to become SUEDSCILVILE LS C joining, movement, health campaign (and why stop at take health? it will inevitabl demands. drop the pressure for aborLONE ble for one campaign to unions fight on all fronts at once they It will probably fail on all other ISSUES. as anils call"
save-our- and for hospitals campaigns have done, and as generalised anti-racism havee believe that NAC for Stole work large labour movement to gain organised ACCODO L ship and to a woman who decided never to have these children.
As women, we all share a lack of control over our when want children. But we threatened CA• perience that lack of control in different ways, and it is not only through abor- other, tion that control over our reproduction is felt.
There an entire climate which promotes certain women having Able those babies and which does not favour others, on the basis of prejudice and oppres- blems. sion to do with colour, For class, marital status, sexual preference, disability fit' mother. We come up tion we go for contraception, if we need an abortion, if we want artificial insemination, if sterilisation is women do option, if we need tests for tion. infertility, We pregnant or We come want to get the NHS against them precisely at the point where we attempt to whatever limited choices are open to us, given circumstances.
youlla Attack such IUDs. after In the "70s, abortion under attack. Abortion CHIOIS rights are still being attacked and eroded now, much more insidiously and cessfully than five years Contr ago. is def a and trade because fight for pay the women remains become a else aust conimportant issues we are exwho exbecause many has — ee since 1974. It Policies fitting an abortion rubella vacchildbirth 'NAC's great strength lies in its mass appeal around a clear demand' Casc 110l1 type the Whether unions belong cidental traception, councel Our generally, vant again.
posing to specific campaign the who NAC, campaign.
in favourable '70s.
not these continue to LO C We • or denied — abortion have and we be for rights we • to campaign NAC dissolve a new strucfor exhave formed who aspects of only campaign.
NAC's great strength lies • 11 appea around clear straightforward demand, its support women and men within outside. the movement and of all sorts of politics.
Oppose The adoption of any viewpoint means sacrificing a mass campaign. We oppose turning NAC into a reproductive STONES campaign because we don't have the forces to run a campaign on contraception sterilisation as well as re maining the only mass campaign for a woman's right to choose Accepting the need to press on to defend existing abortion rights and extend them, we believe that ac tion should be stepped up to combat what is going to be a huge attack from anti-abortionists supported by hostile to women, and to work toward positive legislation.
We have a long way to go to get a woman's right to choose and it's going to be tough even retainin what : we've won. We wil not be able to maintain that struggle if we branch out into other areas of women's oppression.
been edited due to lack of space.)
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For a pro-choice campaign By the NAC/Labour Abortion Rights Campaign