Isle of Man set to decriminalise abortion in ‘major step forward’
The Isle of Man is set to radically change women’s reproductive rights by decriminalising abortion in a “major step forward”, the doctor spearheading the reform said.
The Abortion Reform Bill consultation received the most responses ever on the island, a self-governing crown dependency where abortion is only legal in very limited circumstances.
More than 3,600 individuals and groups gave input, including one respondent who said she was filling out the form on behalf of her grandmother, who died as a result of a botched back-street abortion.
Its aim is to take abortion “out of the realm of the criminal justice system” and make it available “on request” to women in a broad range of circumstances, according to Alex Allinson, the politician elected after placing the issue at the centre of his manifesto.
The former GP said decriminalising abortion would free up midwives from “not constantly having to look over their shoulder”, allowing them to “look forward and provide decent services”.
It would make Manx abortion law more progressive than England and Wales, where abortion is legal on a wide range of grounds but not decriminalised entirely, he said, and “will hopefully lead the way” with regard to the Irish referendum and other countries considering reform.
He said: “What we’re doing is making it legal and firmly putting it in terms of women’s healthcare. And I think that’s very, very important, that women are actually empowered to be part of the system that supplies their healthcare.
“This is the first move to break down some of the stigma about abortion, to try to get rid of the shame some women feel, either making the decision or afterwards, which can affect their mental health, so it’s more than symbolism, this is a really positive step forward.”
The legislation will allow abortion up to 14 weeks on request, up to 24 weeks in cases of foetal anomaly or serious social reasons, and after 24 weeks in rare circumstances where the life of the mother or baby is at risk.
Counselling must be offered before and after the procedure, and a clause allows medical professionals to not deliver treatment if it clashes with their personal views.
Last week, draft legislation was agreed on “access zones” where patients would be prevented from “pavement interference” or harassment outside abortion providers.
The Bill is due for its third reading in Tynwald, the island’s parliament, on Tuesday. If then passed by its legislative chamber, it will go to the Queen for royal assent before coming into law later this year.
Fewer than 10 abortions are carried out on the island each year, while around 100 women travel to the UK for private abortions annually.
The Press Association was told about one young woman who opted for a medical procedure in Liverpool, and began haemorrhaging on the journey back.
Some women were too scared to tell doctors they had taken abortion pills ordered from the internet, instead claiming spontaneous miscarriages.
Dr Allinson (pictured) said reading the women’s submissions was “humbling” and he had “tears in my eyes a number of times”.
Sarah, not her real name, was forced to leave the island for an abortion after being brutally beaten by her ex-partner.
She told PA she was cautiously optimistic, but feared some politicians may try to “take the guts out of the Bill”.
She said: “It will certainly be an incredibly positive day for the Isle of Man and local women, and it’s way, way, way beyond the time when it should have happened, but I will be delighted, absolutely delighted.”
Anti-abortion protesters, who appear to be in a minority on the island, have made their opposition to the proposed law change clear by demonstrating with graphic images outside Parliament to “inform and educate the public about the humanity of the unborn child”.
Dr Jules Gomes, part of the group who describes himself as “passionately pro-free speech”, said: “We want people to see the inhumanity of killing a human being using some of the most brutal and cruel methods in its mother’s womb.”
Stephanie Kelsey, from the island’s Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation (Calm), said she hoped the new Bill would be “held up as an example of progressive, yet caring legislation that other countries could copy”.
She said: “I think it will be a really proud moment for the Isle of Man and for me personally for a Manx woman, to be able to change something which has affected so many women negatively up until now, and which could really change women’s lives and also women’s perception of how the Isle of Man cares for them and feels about them.”
ISLE OF MAN ABUSE SURVIVOR DESCRIBES ‘COMPLETE BLACKOUT’ ON ABORTION INFORMATION
The Isle of Man is on the brink of decriminalising abortion for women who for hundreds of years have undergone risky backstreet procedures or been forced off the island for treatment.
It is only over the last two years that the issue has started to dominate island politics, with more Manx women feeling able to share their stories as the stigma begins to fade away.
Two women told the Press Association about their experiences.
Sarah, not her real name, was beaten by her ex-partner almost a decade ago when she told him she didn’t want to be pregnant.
When she told her doctor she wanted an abortion, he simply urged her to let him know if she changed her mind – an exchange that left her “numb” and “dumbstruck”.
She said: “There was no conversation to be had around ‘my boyfriend battered me, I can’t have a baby, I don’t want a baby’. That just wasn’t an option.
“It was entirely ‘I’ve got the money to do this, I have to do this’, but my heart breaks for anyone who can’t just pick up the phone and can’t just pay for it. A horrible, horrible situation to be in.”
Sarah said the primary barrier on the island was a lack of information, describing it as “a complete blackout”.
She found some numbers for UK clinics and was “saved” by her financial situation, which enabled her to spend between £800 and £900 on flights to Manchester and the medical procedure.
She said: “I wanted to do it. It wasn’t a difficult decision for me.
“I know that seems to be a common misconception, that it’s such a hard decision for a woman, sometimes it’s the only decision, sometimes it’s a very, very easy decision.
“And I think this notion of it being so difficult, it’s almost something that makes it very easy for the pro-life brigade to argue that it’s almost something we need to be protected from.
“It was a very, very easy decision for me and I felt nothing but relief that I could do that.
“I think the situation would have been a lot different, one, if I hadn’t had the money and two, if there hadn’t been anything in the Yellow Pages.”
Deborah McCann, now 54, became pregnant as a teenager when she was raped at knife-point while studying in London.
She had a surgical abortion in England and said she does not know what she would have done if she had been on the island when she fell pregnant.
Mrs McCann, who has waived her anonymity, said: “I don’t regret having the abortion. Obviously I would rather I didn’t have to have had one because I’d been raped, but I feel the same about the choice I made then, and it’s the same choice, if that happened now, that I would make.
“There was absolutely no way I could bring that person’s child into the world.”
She has lived on the Isle of Man for two decades, but only discovered the island’s restrictive laws six years ago when an acquaintance became pregnant.
Manx law requires a woman to report a rape under oath to police “as soon as was reasonable”.
But, she said even getting dressed in the morning was a struggle after her rape, adding: “Anyone that thinks that that is morally right really needs to examine their soul, frankly.”
Mrs McCann said she had been branded a “baby killer” when she left the island’s parliament after listening to a debate on the abortion reform bill, which she is strongly supportive of.
She added: “You’ll never stop women having abortions if that is the choice they have made. They’ll find a way to do it – we will find a way to do it. I know I would have done.”
Copyright (c) Press Association Ltd. 2018, All Rights Reserved. Picture (c) The Parliament of the Isle of Man.
