I have been an advocate for a woman’s right to safe and legal abortion, and I am committed to ensuring that this right continues to be protected in law.
I have been advocating that as Telemedicine has worked so well during the Pandemic, I cannot see any reason why it cannot be made permanent. It has meant that requests to illegal services have ceased, and the most vulnerable women, including those suffering domestic abuse, have been able to access the care they need.
If medical abortion via telemedicine were to be dropped, women would lose additional important social advantages such as reducing the cost to women living in deprived conditions. This will become increasingly important as more and more people experience increasing financial hardship, especially with the rising cost of energy linked to the war in Ukraine.
I voted in favour of continuing with at-home early medical abortion care via telemedicine when the Health and Care Bill returned to the Commons today.
For your information, the majority of emails I have received on this issue support me in this. I appreciate that there are some who feel differently, and this was a free vote for the Opposition, so, “a matter of conscience” for many MPs. I believe it is essentially about a women’s right to choose and I will always uphold that.
