Jeremy Hunt urged to come out against anti-choice counsellors
04 Sep 2012
Diane Abbott, Labour’s Shadow Public Health Minister, urges Jeremy Hunt, the new Health Secretary, to drop Tory plans to allow anti-choice organisations to give counselling to womenDiane Abbott said that the government’s counselling policy plans should be dropped
and that anti-abortion group LIFE should be sacked from the government advisory
panel:
‘Jeremy Hunt’s record on women’s right to choose is really concerning. But I think, as
the new health secretary, he needs to accept the consensus amongst the medical
profession, the British public and women themselves, and drop the government’s
discredited plans to allow anti-choice organisations to give counselling to
women, as soon as possible.
‘I think the government’s plans have been really frightening for a lot of people,
especially once the government kept going with the plans even after they’d been
defeated in Parliament. It will be a key test for Jeremy Hunt, that he’s able
to listen to what the British public are saying, and get some distance from these
anti-choice groups whilst there’s still time.’
--ENDS—
1) Hunt’s anti-choice record: http://www.publicwhip.org/mp.php?mpn=Jeremy_Hunt&mpc=South_West_Surrey&house=commons&dmp=813
http://www.publicwhip.org/mp.php?mpn=Jeremy_Hunt&mpc=South_West_Surrey&house=commons&dmp=813
2) In July, the government was still saying that they’d push ahead with the plans: http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id=2012-07-05a.115608.h&s=speaker%3A10001#g115608.q0
3) Diane Abbott recent blog at Liberal Conspiracy: The growing cloud over British
women’s right to choose http://liberalconspiracy.org/2012/04/06/the-growing-cloud-over-british-womens-right-to-choose/
4) NHS watchdog attacks blitz on abortion clinics: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/apr/04/nhs-abortion-clinics-andrew-lansley
5) Diane Abbott resigned from abortion counselling working group, ahead of the imminent
government consultation on abortion counselling: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2012/jan/26/diane-abbott-resigns-abortion-counselling-group
6)
Diane Abbott MP led the original campaign to defeat the proposals in Parliament: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/05/abortion-rights-prochoice-diane-abbott
and http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/sep/07/nadine-dorries-abortion-amendment-defeated
7) Under a quarter of Britons support the Government’s abortion counselling proposals: http://labs.yougov.co.uk/news/2011/09/06/abortion-row/
8) Women receiving advice from pregnancy counselling centres
run by faith-based and anti-abortion organisations are
subjected to scaremongering, emotive language and inaccurate information about
abortion, according to an undercover investigation: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/aug/02/abortion-pregnancy-counselling-found-wanting
9) David Cameron’s ‘women problem’: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/oct/04/women-problem-cameron-deeper-rudeness
10) Abortion debate: Dorries campaign urged to reveal how it
is funded: http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/sep/02/abortion-debate-dorries-campaign
11) Abortion rules shakeup could set system back 25 years,
says GPs' chief: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/aug/29/abortion-counselling-rules-shakeup-gps
For more information please call Gabe Trodd on 020 72194426
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