NHS: Axing Flights Limits Abortion Access

A protest rally in London has highlighted an overlooked aspect of the chaos in Ryanair’s flight plans – the impact of cancelled services on Irish women seeking cheap access to abortions in London and Birmingham.

Hundreds gathered for the weekend rally outside the Irish Embassy, where placards included “We need rights, not cancelled flights” and protesters chanted “Healthcare not Ryanair.”

The event was organised by the London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign, a pressure group that lobbies for abortion rights on both sides of the Irish border. The group is demanding the repeal of the Republic of Ireland’s ban on abortion and similar reforms in Northern Ireland.

Speakers at the rally said Ryanair’s suspension of flights would make it harder for many women to get affordable access to abortion clinics, insisting that reproductive rights should not be dependent on budget airline deals.

Ryanair’s cancellation of thousands of flights included a decision to stop all flights between Belfast and London Gatwick from November to March, and

between Dublin and Birmingham. While hundreds of thousands of people have been hit by cancellations those services are crucial for Irish women seeking abortions who cannot afford more expensive ways of reaching major NHS centres in England.

An average of 11 women a day leave Ireland to travel to Britain to receive basic reproductive healthcare. The draconian laws both sides of the Irish border mean that women often must travel to Britain to obtain the same healthcare provisions as their English, Scottish and Welsh counterparts.

That trip requires paying for travel, accommodation and lost wages, making it tough to afford especially for younger women struggling with an unwanted pregnancy. The rise of budget airlines has made the journey more manageable but women who had already booked flights for this reason are now having to reschedule flights with other airlines offering short-notice fares at much higher prices.

Hopes of Progress

The unintended impact of the cancellations on women in crisis is not Ryanair’s fault. The blame lies squarely at the archaic laws in Ireland, both north and south, which mean that women are denied their own bodily autonomy.

The protest by the London-Irish Abortion Rights Campaign saw activists make a blizzard of chalk marks on the footpath outside the Irish embassy.

One mark was scratched on the pavement for each woman who has travelled from Ireland to the UK to get an abortion since 1983, when abortion was outlawed by the Eighth Amendment to the Irish Constitution. There were 205,704 marks.

The best hope for saving other women from making that journey across the Irish Sea is the provision of free, safe and legal abortion at home by amending laws which now carry a maximum sentence of 14 years in jail for obtaining an abortion.

Prime Minister  Leo Varadkar has announced his intention to hold a referendum on the issue next May or June.

That decision followed a Citizens’ Assembly, made up of 99 randomly-chosen Irish citizens, who recommended that women in the Republic should have legal access to abortion.

The Irish government has set up a parliamentary body to advise on the wording of the referendum, and pro-choice campaigners are worried about the options voters will be given in the referendum. The Abortion Rights Campaign said it would “reserve judgement on the announcement of a stand-alone referendum on the Eighth Amendment until we know the question that will be put to the people of Ireland”.

 

by Thomas Chambers

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