Abortion ‘doula’ companions launched to counter ‘failures’ of Northern Ireland Department of Health

Lucht Cabhrach, Irish for Abortion Doula, is being launched today at the MAC in Belfast by Alliance for Choice, a pro-choice group which has been campaigning around the issues since 1996.

Although abortion was decriminalised by Westminster while the Assembly was suspended in 2019, with new legislation coming into effect in 2020, Alliance for Choice claimed yesterday that the Department still has no online information for women.

Therefore the campaign group has launched a new free ‘Abortion Doula Service’ - Lucht Cabhrach - the first of its kind in the UK, to provide advice and support on the issue.

Naomi Connor from Lucht Cabhrach said: “The Department of Health has steadfastly refused to provide a central access point. Women need basic information about abortion healthcare, but they are being denied their human rights. In this vacuum they resort to searching the internet for help and there is a lot of misinformation out there.” The service has four trained Abortion Doulas in NI – Emma Campbell, Naomi Connor, Claire Hackett and Vic Loughran.

However the department countered that information on services is indeed provided on each Health and Social Care Trust website. “This includes information about abortion services,” a spokesman said. Women in NI seeking abortions are advised to contact the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, he added.

The department said that commissioning of abortion services requires agreement by the Stormont Executive, which is now suspended, but that it is developing a draft specification in line with the Secretary of State’s deadline of 31 March 2022.

However pro-life campaigner Dawn McAvoy, Co-Founder of campaign group Both Lives Matter, responded that “the concept of abortion doulas is one of the ugliest and saddest we could imagine”. She added: “Many people will have heard of birth doulas, usually women, who support us as women through pregnancy and birth, as we welcome new life into the world. It’s beautiful.

“The activists behind this venture are zealously pro-abortion. Their commitment to the unrestricted termination of unborn human beings chosen for death is sadly no surprise. We understand that pregnancy crises happen for many reasons. But every woman deserves the best care and support systems that will enable her to choose life for her and her baby.”

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this story on our website. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to newsletter.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to the best Northern Ireland and UK news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit https://www.newsletter.co.uk/subscriptions now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.

Ben Lowry

Editor