Latest news with #StellaCreasy
The Independent
3 days ago
- General
- The Independent
Nigel Farage accused of following ‘Trumpian playbook' on abortion
Campaigners have raised concerns over Reform UK leader Nigel Farage 's calls for stricter abortion laws, saying his plans could have "catastrophic consequences for women". Mr Farage said that allowing abortions up to 24 weeks is "ludicrous" and believes the law is "totally out of date", advocating for a debate on implementing stricter time limits. Stella Creasy, a Labour MP, criticised Mr Farage's comments as part of a "Trumpian playbook", suggesting a coordinated effort to restrict abortion access through seemingly reasonable measures. Tonia Antoniazzi, another Labour MP, is campaigning for an amendment to decriminalise abortion, arguing that "no woman should have Nigel Farage dictating their reproductive rights". The British Pregnancy Advisory Service has said there is no medical justification for reducing the abortion time limit.
The Independent
4 days ago
- Health
- The Independent
Farage abortion plans would have ‘catastrophic consequences for women'
Nigel Farage 's plans to restrict access to abortion would have 'catastrophic consequences for women', campaigners have warned. The Reform UK leader this week said it is 'ludicrous we allow abortion up to 24 weeks' and the law is 'totally out of date'. MPs and charities have hit back, saying there is 'no clinical justification' for reducing the time limit and warned against the 'imposition of cruel restrictions' on women seeking abortions. Stella Creasy, a Labour MP campaigning for a human right to safe and legal abortion, said Mr Farage's comments on abortion were 'all part of the Trumpian playbook' - a reference to his close ties to the US President. Speaking to The Independent after Mr Farage's speech on Tuesday, Ms Creasy said: 'It is not something he has thought deeply about, but somebody has sat him down and said 'they are killing babies at birth'. 'I would be surprised if he knew about fatal fetal abnormalities. If he's never sat through a scan and like, 20 weeks and got the worst news. 'There is a shed load of cash coming into anti-abortion activism, so everyone who thinks this could never happen in the UK needs to understand they are not coming in saying they are going to stop all abortions, they are saying 'babies could live at…' or 'shouldn't women see a doctor before they have one', and it all sounds very reasonable. 'But in reality, it is a way of restricting access.' The senior backbencher has tabled an amendment to Labour's crime and policing bill, which would guarantee women the right to safe and legal abortions. She says the change is essential to protect abortion access 'from whoever is in power' after the next general election, amid a rise in anti-abortion organising. Attacking Mr Farage, Ms Creasy said: 'All those who want to use women's bodies as the battleground for the culture wars or think that isn't happening present a risk to women's rights because they either bargain them away for votes or fail to act when we can to protect them. 'The Trumpian playbook is now very much a part of British politics, and one of the losers in that is always equality. What Farage is really doing is trying to get people to talk about why would a woman have an abortion, as if it's anybody's business. Because that is about shaming women.' Tonia Antoniazzi, a Labour MP campaigning for a separate amendment to the crime and policing bill which would decriminalise abortion, said 'no woman should have Nigel Farage dictating their reproductive rights'. Her amendment would ensure vulnerable women in England and Wales are no longer subject to years-long investigations, criminal charges, and custodial sentences for ending their pregnancies. She told The Independent: 'There is absolutely no clinical, ethical or informed basis for reducing the well-established abortion time limit. Nearly 99 per cent of abortions happen prior to 20 weeks, with the vast majority of those happening prior to 10 weeks. 'It is the most vulnerable women and girls that tend to be those more likely to need later abortion care, that is, women with complex foetal anomaly diagnoses, women who have experienced domestic abuse or trafficking and exploitation, and girls under the age of 18. 'Farage would do well to remember that the vast majority of the public support a woman's right to choose, and one in three women will have an abortion in her lifetime. 'Currently, women are being arrested, from hospital bed to police cell, under outdated and inconsistent abortion law.' Speaking at a press conference on the issue on Tuesday, Mr Farage said: 'I am pro-choice, but I think it's ludicrous, utterly ludicrous that we can allow abortion up to 24 weeks. "And yet, if a child is born prematurely at 22 weeks, your local hospital will move heaven and earth and probably succeed in that child surviving and going on and living a normal life. "So I believe there is an inconsistency in the law. I believe it is totally out of date." He has previously called for parliament to debate implementing stricter time limits on abortion. Charity, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), said MPs were entitled to their views on abortion, but 'it is wrong to suggest that there is any medical evidence that supports a reduction in the abortion time limit'. Spokesman Katherine O'Brien said: 'Just last year, leading fetal medicine experts wrote to members of parliament to warn that there is no clinical justification for reducing the time limit based on national outcomes data, and that any such move would have catastrophic consequences for women.' It is supporting Ms Antoniazzi's amendment to the crime and policing bill, which it says would 'reform our archaic legislation' in a 'compassionate and considered' way.
The Guardian
4 days ago
- Business
- The Guardian
Is Labour being outflanked on the left by Nigel Farage?
Nigel Farage seems to have upstaged the Labour government, pledging to scrap the controversial two-child benefit cap and reverse the cuts to the winter fuel allowance. So why hasn't the government – after almost a year in power – done more to end child poverty? Gaby Hinsliff, in for John Harris, speaks to the Labour MP Stella Creasy and columnist Polly Toynbee
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
After 'Shocking' Police Abortion Guidance, Here's What Campaigners Want To Happen Next
Following the release of new police guidance detailing how to seize phones and search for medications used to terminate pregnancies in the homes of women after unexpected pregnancy loss, campaigners and doctors are urgently calling for abortion to be decriminalised. The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) has branded the guidance on child death investigation, which comes from the National Police Chiefs' Council (NPCC) and was updated earlier this year, as 'truly shocking'. If someone is suspected of terminating a pregnancy outside of the legally permitted circumstances, the guidance suggests police could seize phones to examine internet search history, messages and health apps such as menstrual cycle and fertility trackers to 'establish a woman's knowledge and intention in relation to the pregnancy'. It also offers advice on searching for abortifacients (medications used to terminate pregnancies) as well as packaging, documentation and empty medication blister packs. Now, campaigners and doctors are calling for abortion to be decriminalised, with Joeli Brearley, founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, urging people to write to their MPs to ask them to support it. Labour and Co-op MP Stella Creasy has also urged her followers to take action. The NPCC told HuffPost UK: 'Unexpected pregnancy loss is not something which is routinely investigated by police as potential illegal abortion, and these are very rare. 'We recognise how traumatic the experience of losing a child is, with many complexities involved, and any investigation of this nature will always be treated with the utmost sensitivity and compassion.' The council added an investigation would only be initiated 'where there is credible information to suggest criminal activity' and this would often be as a result of concerns raised from medical professionals. 'It is important to stress that due to the individuality of each case, there is no standardised policy to investigate illegal abortions and that police will always work closely with health partners, prioritising the welfare of everyone involved,' said the NPCC. But against a backdrop of reproductive rights being rolled back in the US, campaigners are concerned by the update to police guidance. Over the past two years, six women have appeared in UK courts charged with ending their own pregnancy. Since the introduction of the Offences Against the Person Act 1861 (written before women could vote in the UK), only three other convictions of illegal abortion have been reported, the BMJ said. 'Abortion providers have reported that in recent years they have received c.50requests for women's medical records from the police in relation to suspected abortion offence,' a cross-party amendment briefing on the topic said. Abortion is technically still a criminal offence in England and Wales. It is only 'de facto' legal until 24 weeks because of the Abortion Act 1967, which allows people to circumvent the law by meeting certain conditions (getting the sign-off from two doctors, taking place in a hospital or premises approved by the Secretary of State for Health, and meeting one of the seven criteria that allows abortion). According to the briefing, that means that technically 'any woman who undergoes an abortion without the permission of two doctors – for example by ordering pills online – can be prosecuted and receive a life sentence as her abortion takes place outside of the provisions of the Act'. This is not usually enforced, but the law seems to be getting stricter. Nicola Packer was only cleared of illegally terminating a pregnancy after taking abortion pills during Covid this month, for instance. She had used a registered provider and was covered by emergency lockdown rule changes that allowed people to order abortion pills online up to 10 weeks into their pregnancy (this stayed in place after the lockdown). Earlier this month, The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists 'welcomed' an amendment which is currently making its way through parliament and calls for abortion to be decriminalised. At the time, Dr Ranee Thakar, president of RCOG, said: 'Abortion that happens outside of the current law generally involves very vulnerable women – including those facing domestic abuse, mental health challenges or barriers to accessing NHS care. 'Yet alarmingly, prosecutions of women have been increasing in recent years.' Stating that abortion is a form of healthcare, Dr Thakar added: 'Parliamentarians now have an unmissable opportunity to decriminalise abortion, to ensure women can access abortion safely, confidentially and free from the threat of investigation and prosecution. 'We urge MPs to support this amendment to ensure that women and girls in England and Wales will have the same protections as their counterparts in countries such as Northern Ireland, France, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.' The British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has also been campaigning for abortion law reform. Spokesperson Katie Saxon said the recent police guidance change 'is the clearest sign yet that women cannot rely on the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, or the courts to protect them'. She added: 'The only way to stop this is to remove women from the criminal law on abortion.' Joeli Brearley, campaigner and founder of Pregnant Then Screwed, has now urged people to write to their MPs to ask them to support the amendment to the Crime and Policing Bill. 'This is not the time for caution,' she wrote on social media. 'We need to go hard or go home. Let's make sure the future of reproductive rights in this country is secure and that no woman who experiences pregnancy loss is ever investigated as a potential criminal.' On Sunday, Stella Creasy took to Instagram to 'beg' her followers to not 'ignore the warning signs that abortion access is under threat on our shores'. 'For the sake of the 250,000 women who have one every year here ask your MP to sign our cross party amendment and vote for it,' she said. 'We only have a few weeks to win this vital fight for our freedoms ... The stakes could not be higher but with your help and all our voices we can do this.' 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Daily Mirror
7 days ago
- Politics
- Daily Mirror
Pressure mounts as senior Labour MP demands major benefit policy be scrapped
Labour's Stella Creasy, who has been an MP for 15 years, called on the PM to scrap the two-child benefit policy as it would take '350,000 children out of poverty overnight' A senior Labour MP has called for the two-child benefit limit to be scrapped as she told Keir Starmer tackling poverty is in Labour's "DNA". Stella Creasy, who has been an MP for 15 years, said removing the policy would take "350,000 children out of poverty overnight". She said struggling families needed a "triple lock", a policy which sees state pension rates go up each year by the rate of inflation, average earnings or 2.5% – whichever is highest. She is the latest Labour MP to mount pressure over the two-child limit, a policy introduced by by ex-Chancellor George Osborne in 2017 which restricts parents from claiming Universal Credit or Child Tax Credits for any children beyond their first two. It was reported over the weekend that the PM has told cabinet ministers that he wants to scrap the benefits limit and has asked the Treasury to find ways to fund the plan. It comes after Mr Starmer announced a U-turn on cuts to winter fuel payments. The PM said he wants more pensioners to be eligible for the policy. READ MORE: Angela Rayner refuses to guarantee more pensioners will receive fuel payments this winter Ms Creasy, the MP for Walthamstow, told BBC Radio 4 she "absolutely" thought the two-child limit should be removed. She said: "My focus is poverty, because I think it is in our DNA as the Labour movement to try to end that because of the benefits to everybody when we do. I'm really focused on what we can actually do to help those families. "I think we need a triple lock for families too. It's worth remembering we've spent 1% of our social security budget on children, we spent 60% of it on pensioners. That is not to distract from the fact that there are pensioners who are living in poverty, and we absolutely need to tackle that. The point is, when we invest in those families, I think it pays off." Ms Creasy, who was not among the seven Labour MPs to rebel and vote for the policy to be ditched just after the election, said it was "worth reflecting" that 60% of kids who could be pulled out of poverty if the policy was scrapped are in households where somebody is in work. She said the child poverty strategy, which has been delayed until the autumn, must find "a way of helping every family make ends meet". "I am painfully aware of how many people in my local community still have too much month at the end of their money," she added. The MP also pointed to recent analysis that found every pound invested in Sure Start centres returned £2 in savings. The early years services were championed by the last Labour government but were dismantled by the Tories when they came to power in 2010. She added: "It's the child poverty strategy that is the real prize here, because poverty is really bad for growth, especially when you don't have the money in your pocket on some of the lowest incomes. So actually, everything we can do to tackle poverty pays for itself in the long run. "I do think what we really need to focus on is how do we tackle that endemic poverty that we've seen, particularly with wages, particularly with housing costs. When I talk about people in my community with too much month at the end of their money, it is housing, it is child care that is really draining their finances. So I don't see this as a trade off. "I see this about how we invest to save, and the numbers are there to do it. Because actually, over the longer term, if you tackle that poverty, if we lift those families out of the destitution that they're currently facing, it will pay off for all of us." Elsewhere Mr Starmer has been facing mounting pressure over the Government's benefits cuts. It emerged this morning that disability benefit claimants could get more time to seek support before Labour's cuts are implemented. The PM is said to be considering "tweaks" to welfare cuts planned by his Government. Benefit claimants could be given longer "transitional periods" to seek out other benefits if they lose out as a result of the reforms, according to the Times. More than 100 backbench MPs are said to be thinking about rebelling over the planned benefits cuts, which would tighten eligibility for the personal independence payment (PIP). DWP Secretary Liz Kendall announced the changes as part of plans to cut the welfare bill by £5billion and get more working age people currently on benefits into employment.
