Pro-abortion politicians who signed 2018 letter in favour of abortion up to birth in NI
This 2018 letter that was written to the Sunday Times editor was co-ordinated by Stella Creasy MP and signed by more than 170 Members of Parliament, Members of the House of Lords, Members of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland), and TDs and Senators (members of the Irish Parliament).
For the upcoming December election, it is important to know which of the NI politicians who supported the full legalisation of abortion being forced on Northern Ireland by Westminster including Colum Eastwood, Claire Hanna, Clare Bailey, Paula Bradshaw and Naomi Long.
A vote for them is a VOTE FOR ABORTION UP TO 7 MONTHS for any reason and UP TO BIRTH for disability!
The letter is as follows:
"We the undersigned, as British and Irish parliamentarians, remain proud of the achievement of the Good Friday Agreement 20 years on. We respect the responsibility it places on both governments as the co-guarantors of the agreement to uphold and protect the human rights of all the residents of Northern Ireland.
In 1998, when parties signed up to the agreement, they did so on the basis that one of the foundation stones of the new political dispensation in Northern Ireland was that laws would be compliant with the European convention on human rights (ECHR). This responsibility cannot be abandoned for political expediency; and it falls to each of us to help ensure that these commitments are proactively upheld.
Yet now we recognise this commitment is being tested. The recent referendum on the repeal of the eighth amendment to the constitution of Ireland/Bunreacht na hÉireann, saw the people in the south of Ireland vote by a large majority to rewrite the Irish state’s existing abortion law. This has highlighted the situation north of the border where action is urgently needed to protect the human rights of women.
Currently, abortion law in Northern Ireland is defined by one 157-year old piece of British legislation – the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (Oapa). Section 58 of this legislation makes it a crime for a woman, pregnant or not, to take any medication or use any instrument to attempt to cause her own abortion.
In the original legislation, the penalty for this was “to be kept in penal servitude for life” – a punishment which is now up to life in prison. Section 59 makes it a crime to assist in causing an abortion – which includes doctors treating patients in line with best medical practice. The penalty for this is up to five years in prison.
Last month, the UK Supreme Court issued a statement that Northern Ireland’s abortion law treated women as “vehicles”, is “untenable”, and is in need of “radical reconsideration” as is incompatible with article 8 of the ECHR.
The court stated: “Those responsible for ensuring the compatibility of Northern Ireland law with the convention rights will no doubt recognise and take account of these conclusions, at as early a time as possible, by considering whether and how to amend the law, in the light of the ongoing suffering being caused by it.”
This follows the statement by the UN committee on the elimination of discrimination against women (Cedaw) which told the British government in February that abortion law in Northern Ireland breached the human rights of citizens living there. It stated that “denial of abortion and criminalisation of abortion amounts to discrimination against women because it is a denial of a service that only women need”.
Both the UN and the UK Supreme Court have considered the case for the British government to repeal the relevant offences in the Oapa. Yet despite these statements, the UK government has refused to act upon both the UN Cedaw ruling and the supreme court, arguing instead that this is a “devolved matter” for the Northern Ireland Assembly alone to address.
Without an assembly or executive in place for more than 18 months, this therefore raises the prospect that a victim of rape will be required to take the British government to court herself to vindicate these rights.
It is our belief that the current situation for women cannot be ignored or allowed to continue. Indeed, the current lack of devolved institutions also presents a lacuna for the protection of human rights across the board.
The Good Friday Agreement set out rights equivalency protections on a north-south basis. The Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement recently warned of the risks of creating a difference in rights protections on a north-south basis, and recommended that the UK and Irish governments ensure the safeguarding of the north-south equivalency of rights on an ongoing basis.
We also note that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has recognised the current fragmentation of rights across these islands in relation to abortion: “Any right or freedom that an Irish citizen has in Ireland, any right or freedom that a British citizen has in Britain, should be enjoyed by Irish and British citizens in Northern Ireland and that applies to things like marriage equality and abortion rights.”
Without urgent action, women and girls living in Northern Ireland will continue to be unable to access safe healthcare at home. In 2017, 919 women and girls were forced to travel across to Britain to access a safe abortion, while others took illegal abortion pills in their bedrooms and bathrooms without the support of a medical professional, and others faced criminal prosecution.
We welcome the announcement that the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) shall be convened in London on July 25. We hope that the BIIGC will urgently agree a pathway forward to adequately provide for human rights — including compliant healthcare access for women and girls living in Northern Ireland.
We also recognise that an essential first step in delivering this human right would be for the Westminster parliament to repeal sections 58 and 59 of Oapa and decriminalise abortion and we urge Westminster to set out an explicit legislative timetable as to when it will do so.
This is the first and critical step to ending the treatment of British and Irish women living in Northern Ireland as second-class citizens, who do not enjoy the same access to healthcare as their counterparts do across these islands.
We therefore call for our respective governments to act to ensure that the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement is upheld and the human rights of the women living in Northern Ireland are respected."
Signatories
Stella Creasy MP, Labour
Carine Murphy TD, Kildare North
Claire Hanna MLA, South Belfast
Clare Bailey MLA, South Belfast
Colum Eastwood MLA, Foyle
Kellie Armstrong MLA, Strangford
Naomi Long MLA, Belfast East
Paula Bradshaw MLA, South Belfast
Roisin Shortall TD Dublin North-West
Stephen Farry MLA Newtownards
Steven Agnew MLA North Down
Stewart Dickson MLA East Antrim
Senator Colette Kelleher, Independent
Senator Alice-Mary Higgins, Independent, leader of the Civil Engagement Group
Senator Lynn Ruane, Independent
Senator Frances Black, Independent
Catherine Connolly TD, Independent
Senator David Norris, Independent
Senator Catherine Noone, Fine Gael and chair of Joint Oireachtas Committee on the eighth amendment
Lisa Chambers TD, Fianna Fail
Senator Ned O’Sullivan, Fianna Fail
Senator Lorraine Clifford-Lee, Fianna Fail
Senator Catherine Ardagh, Fianna Fail
Joan Burton TD, Labour
Alan Kelly TD, Labour
Jan O’Sullivan TD, Labour
Willie Penrose TD, Labour
Brendan Ryan TD, Labour
Sean Sherlock TD, Labour
Senator Ivana Bacik, Labour
Senator Kevin Humphreys, Labour
Senator Ged Nash, Labour
Senator Aodhan O Riordain, Labour
Richard Boyd Barrett TD, People Before Profit
Brid Smith TD, People Before Profit
Gino Kenny TD, People Before Profit
Catherine Murphy TD, Social Democrats
Roisin Shortall TD, Social Democrats
Mary Lou McDonald TD, Uachtaran Sinn Fein and Dail group leader
Michelle O’Neill MLA, Leas-Uachtaran Sinn Féin and MLA group leader
Senator Rose Conway-Walsh, Sinn Fein Seanad group leader
Martina Anderson MEP, Sinn Fein European parliament group leader
Paul Maskey MP, Sinn Fein
Baroness Andrews, Labour
Baroness Blackstone, Independent Labour
Baroness Brown of Cambridge, Crossbench
Baroness Burt of Solihull, Liberal Democrat
Baroness Corston, Labour
Baroness Gould of Potternewton, Labour
Baroness Harris of Richmond, Liberal Democrat
Baroness Healy of Primrose Hill, Labour
Baroness Hughes of Stretford, Labour
Baroness Hussein-Ece, Liberal Democrat
Baroness Jay of Paddington, Labour
Baroness Jolly, Liberal Democrat
Baroness Kennedy of Cradley, Labour
Baroness Kidron, Crossbench
Baroness Lister of Burtersett, Labour
Baroness Massey of Darwin, Labour
Baroness Murphy, Crossbench
Baroness Northover, Liberal Democrat
Baroness Royall of Blaisdon, Labour
Baroness Thornton, Labour
Baroness Tonge, Non-affiliated
Baroness Walmsley, Liberal Democrat
Baroness Warsi, Conservative
Baroness Young of Old Scone, Labour
Lord Adonis, Labour
Lord Balfe, Conservative
Lord Cashman, Labour
Lord Dubs, Labour
Lord Dykes, Crossbench
Lord Faulkner of Worcester, Labour
Lord Freyberg, Crossbench
Lord Goldsmith, Labour
Lord Judd, Labour
Lord Kennedy of Southwark, Labour
Lord MacKenzie of Culkein, Labour
Lord Rea, Labour
Lord Rennard, Liberal Democrat
Lord Rooker, Labour
Lord Steel of Aikwood, Liberal Democrat
Lord Triesman, Labour
Lord Wood of Anfield, Labour
Lord Wrigglesworth, Liberal Democrat
Adrian Bailey MP, Labour
Alex Norris MP, Labour
Andrew Gwynne MP, Labour
Angela Eagle MP, Labour
Angela Rayner MP, Labour
Angela Smith MP, Labour
Ann Clwyd MP, Labour
Ann Coffey MP, Labour
Anna McMorrin MP, Labour
Anna Soubry MP, Conservative
Anna Turley MP, Labour
Barbara Keeley MP, Labour
Catherine West MP, Labour
Chi Onwurah MP, Labour
Chris Bryant MP, Labour
Chris Elmore MP, Labour
Christine Jardine MP, Liberal Democrat
Dan Poulter MP, Conservative
Danielle Rowley MP, Labour
Dawn Butler MP, Labour
Debbie Abrahams MP, Labour
Diana Johnson MP, Labour
Ed Vaizey MP, Conservative
Emma Hardy MP, Labour
Emma Reynolds MP, Labour
Gareth Snell MP, Labour
Ged Killen MP, Labour
George Freeman MP, Conservative
Harriet Harman MP, Labour
Helen Goodman MP, Labour
Helen Hayes MP, Labour
Ian Lucas MP, Labour
Ian Murray MP, Labour
Jeff Smith MP, Labour
Jess Phillips MP, Labour
Jimmy Frith MP, Labour
Jo Stevens MP, Labour
Jo Swinson MP, Liberal Democrat
Joan Ryan MP, Labour
Julie Elliot MP, Labour
Karen Buck MP, Labour
Karin Smyth MP, Labour
Kate Green MP, Labour
Kate Osamor MP, Labour
Laura Smith MP, Labour
Layla Moran MP, Liberal Democrat
Liz Kendall MP, Labour
Liz McInnes MP, Labour
Liz Saville-Roberts MP, Plaid Cymru
Liz Twist MP, Labour
Louise Haigh MP, Labour
Luciana Berger MP, Labour
Lucy Powell MP, Labour
Lyn Brown MP, Labour
Lady Hodge MP, Labour
Martin Whitfield MP, Labour
Mike Gapes MP, Labour
Neil Coyle MP, Labour
Nicky Morgan MP, Conservative
Norman Lamb MP, Liberal Democrat
Owen Smith MP, Labour
Paul Blomfield MP, Labour
Paul Sweeney MP, Labour
Paul Williams MP, Labour
Paula Sheriff MP, Labour
Peter Bottomley MP, Conservative
Peter Kyle MP, Labour
Richard Burden MP, Labour
Roberta Blackman-Woods MP, Labour
Rosie Duffield MP, Labour
Rupa Huq MP, Labour
Ruth Cadbury MP, Labour
Ruth Smeeth MP, Labour
Sandy Martin MP, Labour
Sarah Champion MP, Labour
Sarah Wollaston MP, Conservative
Sharon Hodgson MP, Labour
Siobhain McDonagh MP, Labour
Stephen Doughty MP, Labour
Steve Reed MP, Labour
Thelma Walker MP, Labour
Tim Loughton MP, Conservative
Tom Watson MP, deputy leader, Labour
Tonia Antoniazzi MP, Labour
Tony Lloyd MP, Labour
Tracy Brabin MP, Labour
Wes Streeting MP, Labour
Yasmin Qureshi MP, Labour
Yvette Cooper MP, Labour