Healthcare Prof:

Today sees the launch with the first viral video campaign aimed at Westminster MPs to secure an equal right to abortion for the women of Northern Ireland. Ladies in Northern Ireland do not have the same right to abortion as British women and suffer discrimination every day.

Sexual wellness charity fpa, has created four viral videos, each a minute long, to persuade MPs why they must extend the 1967 Abortion Act to Northern Ireland. Every MP in Westminster will receive all four videos within the series. These will start arriving on MP’s computers today, within the run up towards the Human Fertilisation and Embryology (HFE) Bill vote on the 22 October. It is estimated that 80,000 Northern Irish females have travelled to England and other European cities since 1967 to pay for a private abortion.

Dr Audrey Simpson OBE, Director of fpa in Northern Ireland said:

“There is really a ‘chill factor’ surrounding abortion in Northern Ireland which masks what really happens to girls with an unplanned or crisis pregnancy. These videos will expose exactly what’s going on in women’s lives. MPs in Westminster must understand that although abortion is a health issue in Britain, in Northern Ireland it’s also a class issue. Because ladies from Northern Ireland are not entitled to a cost-free NHS abortion and have to pay up to ????2,000 themselves for one, abortion is only available to those who can afford it.”

The viral videos contain different stories and scenarios. In two with the videos, actors tell us the stories of real females who’ve attended fpa’s counselling service: the only impartial counselling service for unplanned pregnancy in Northern Ireland.

The videos show the devastation that denying access to abortion has on women’s lives as well as the inequality between Northern Irish and British females. Stories include a woman whose babies would have died at birth and another whose wellness would have suffered irreversibly had they gone through with the pregnancy.

“Every day we see females going through the anguish of having to travel to England or overseas to pay for a private abortion or going through with a pregnancy they don’t want,” continued Dr Simpson. “But these girls have to do this behind a veil of secrecy.

“The Northern Ireland Assembly refuses to accept that women in Northern Ireland are the same as British women and need abortion services. Some ladies for reasons very personal to themselves will need to have an abortion. We hope the viral videos will persuade Westminster MPs to be the ‘voice’ for Northern Ireland ladies. Currently the Assembly is not listening to girls or providing essential reproductive healthcare for them,” she concluded.

The viral videos spearhead fpa’s national public and parliamentary campaign to amend the HFE Bill. Extending the locations where abortions can take place, doing away with the requirement for two doctors, allowing trained nurses to perform abortions are some of the main demands with the campaign to modernise abortion provision inside the UK.

People across the UK can also show their support for females in Northern Ireland by signing a national petition hosted at the Prime Minister’s website www.No10.gov.uk. The videos are hosted by YouTube and can be watched online at http://www.fpa.org.uk.The four viral videos are split into:

– Mary’s story: Diagnosed with severe fetal abnormality and denied an abortion

– Irene’s story: Denied an abortion after being told the pregnancy could cause her to go blind.

– Young people of Northern Ireland: Discuss some with the problems females in Northern Ireland face when they want an abortion.

– Fact and Fiction: Do you know the facts about abortion in Northern Ireland?

Watch the videos here.

fpa (Family Planning Association) is the only registered charity working to improve the sexual wellness and reproductive rights of all people throughout the UK.

http://www.fpa.org.uk