*29/8/11: This entry has been edited to correct a mistake pointed out by 'Anonymous'*
Dear Nadine Dorries MP (and Frank Field MP, and the "up to 80%" of MPs who supposedly back you),
I am writing to commend you on your most recent attempt to obstruct women's access to abortion, specifically, the amendment on the health and social care bill stripping the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Marie Stopes, and other abortion providers of the right to offer women abortion counselling.
The decision to force abortion providers to offer counselling with alternative, "independent" providers - defined as non-statutory bodies who do not offer abortions - shows a level of regard for women's mental health and bodily autonomy which is genuinely staggering.
I would also like to make some suggestions for some alternative, genuinely independent counselling providers. I know (though your tolerance towards the distinction between truth and pure fantasy may lead you to deny it!) that your intention is to gain enough influence over reproductive rights policy to give counselling permissions to fundamentalist Christian 'charities'. It's a shrewd decision. After all, why assault the right to abortion openly when you can sneak restrictions in around the edges! I certainly do not want to think that women considering abortions should be allowed to speak only with people who believe in reproductive rights - we don't want fickle little girls having their heads turned by abstract notions like 'choice' or 'you have a legal right to an abortion, if you want or need one'!
On the other hand, I wonder if it might not be the case that Life, etc, are not really independent enough to take proper responsibility for the lie-filled shaming service that you think should be offered to women? If those who know about abortions are to be stopped from advising or supporting women, it shouldn't be done by half measures. Instead, why not contract out abortion counselling to Dawn French in this video? (1.00 onwards)
As you can see, Dawn French's advice is just as accurate and helpful as the more conventional fundamentalist Christian options. This is a women's rights issue, after all. As someone who might, conceivably, one day be considering abortion, I want to know that my access to correct information is being chipped away at by the state's caring paternalism. Being offered counselling with Dawn French would do just the trick, don't you think? And she's so lovely about it! She could reel women in, get them to trust her, and then make them too scared to even consider abortions! (Silly, easily frightened women).
Alternatively, I recognise that in this particular video Dawn French argues for abortion (though I'm sure she could be persuaded to argue the exact opposite with very few changes needed - the sledgehammer idea could be used as a good anti-abortion scare tactic?). If you prefer, how about instead offering women abortion counselling with this bloke I met in a club yesterday? Or I hear that Justin Bieber is considering a move into the charity sector? You guys totally have all the same opinions.
Oh my god! Do you know who would be awesome as an anti-abortion counsellor? That baby elephant Dumbo from the Disney animation Dumbo ! I don't remember him speaking much but he's really cute and would definitely switch on the natural maternal instinct that every woman always has at all times. I mean, fictional characters, fictional non-information about abortion, things that actually exist, charities with abortion expertise, it's all quite similar really isn't it?
How about letting me advise women on abortion? I'll lay out the 'facts'. Like this. "Stupid little girl: you sluttily opened your legs in the first place, so now deal with the consequences. I don't care what happened to you or what your situation is. Abortion always causes cancer. Abortion makes you evil and bad. Abortion will send you to hell. Don't kill your unborn child. Look, it's probably crying 'mummy!' in the womb right now. Yeah, it's fully formed right now, after two weeks of pregnancy. Have the baby, then you're on your own. What do you think we are, some kind of nanny state?? What do you and your scavenging kid want now?! Welfare? Daycare? Jobs? Child benefits? That's not really the state's problem, soz!"
Please let me know what you think of my suggestions.
Yours, in eternal hope that you will retire from politics,
Ray Filar
In all seriousness, here is the link to email your MP with a real letter: http://www.abortionrights.org.uk/content/view/422/110/
And some news coverage: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/28/anti-abortion-lobby-reforms?CMP=twt_gu
'...recent attempt to obstruct women's access to abortion, specifically, the amendment on the health and social care bill stripping the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, Marie Stopes, and other abortion providers of the right to offer women abortion counselling'
ReplyDeleteThese organisations aren't being stripped of anything. The reforms suggest that women should be [i]offered[/i] conselling independent from existing abortion services.
So one could argue that women are being given [i]more[/i] choice. But then that wouldn't really fit the agenda.
@Anonymous
ReplyDeleteYou're right, I should have said 'exclusive right', as the Guardian piece I linked to makes clear. The point I should have made is that BPAS etc. will be forced to also offer the option of counselling with an "independent" body, as defined by Dorries/Field.
That abortion providers should be forced to offer the option of counselling with religious extremist "charities" who are not abortion experts (let us not kid ourselves that it won't be Life and their ilk who step in as "independent" counsellors) is disgraceful.
It is writing into law that abortion providers, i.e. the people who know about abortion, will have to legitimise (by offering them as a viable option) a set of fundamentalist bodies who are widely documented as disseminating anti-choice religious falsehoods in an attempt to 'bring abortion numbers down'. There's nothing about women's rights or 'care' for women in that.