Time to end the forced pregnancy laws

Recent figures have shown that a quarter of our population are likely to be raped or abused at some point in their lives.

That’s a pretty high percentage of constituents don’t you think?

If I am to be one of those women who are raped or abused, Assembly statistics have shown me that I am highly unlikely to see my abuser in a court of law facing criminal prosecution. The odds of me becoming pregnant as a result of sexual crime are greater.

So what if, for many reasons, which are personal to me, I cannot go through with this pregnancy?

Currently I am unable to discuss all my options with my GP or go to a hospital to seek medical help or advice, as both the medical staff and I may find ourselves in court facing criminal prosecution.

If the foetus is diagnosed as having a fatal abnormality with no chance of survival outside my womb, again, I am unable to seek any medical help or advice for fear of criminal prosecution.

Given that 11 people have faced criminal charges of procuring an illegal abortion since 2010, it is clear that the threat is real.

I acknowledge that if I have the finance and opportunity to travel to any other part of the UK I can pay to have this medical help and advice from a private practitioner. Other women can access this help and advice free at the point of entry under the NHS, but not me.

I don’t live in that Health Authority and will therefore be forced to pay private healthcare fees. In December 2015 Judge Horner ruled that all of the above was not compliant with the Human Rights Act 1998. He did not have the scope to make it possible for me to have the threat of criminal prosecution removed if ever I become pregnant as a one in four.

Instead he made clear in his ruling that this was a matter for MLAs to decide.

Our Attorney General and Justice Minister have both lodged separate appeals to this ruling but on Wednesday you will be able to choose if you are ready to support laws that are compliant with the Human Rights Act you have signed up to.

I trust you will.

I also have faith that you will trust me to decide what will be in my best interest if/when I ever need to do so.

We are both aware that whatever my decision might be under these conditions, it will have no impact at all on your quality of life. And when you vote to remove the threat of criminal sanctions from me in these very limited circumstances, I will know that you are not endorsing a forced abortion programme, but rather ending the forced pregnancy laws that have been enforced in Northern Ireland since 1861.

I will know that as my political representative, you will trust me.

Clare Bailey, South Belfast Green Party

‘I am 19 weeks old in the womb: please don’t kill me’