‘We face very real threats to our reproductive rights’

On the third day of UNISON national women’s conference, motions on reproductive health dominated the agenda.

The first to pass was a motion titled ‘abortion is healthcare’, which called on the union to campaign for the full decriminalisation of abortion.

Although legislation passed last year that means people will no longer be prosecuted for ending a pregnancy, abortion is still a crime in some circumstances.

Within the current criminal law, women and pregnant people in Britain could face 12 years in prison for using abortion pills purchased online.

Introducing the motion, Liz Wheatley from UNISON Camden said: “We face very real threats to our reproductive rights.”

“Nigel Farage has said that the 24-week time limit on abortion is ludicrous and there should be a parliamentary debate on restricting it,” she said. “Farage is modelling himself on Trump, and we all know Trump overturned Roe v Wade at his first opportunity.

“The best way to stop these attacks on our right to choose,” she said was to remove abortion from the criminal law and “treat it like any other medical procedure. It’s healthcare, so why are our bodies and choices governed by Victorian legislation?”

Another motion focused on the specific barriers that disabled women face owing to gynaecological and hormonal health conditions, including endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), fibroids, menopause, perimenopause, irregular menstruation, and chronic pelvic pain. 

Introducing the motion, a speaker said, “Every woman deserves dignified, accessible and compassionate healthcare regardless of disability.”

Two motions focused on women’s lack of access to menstrual products at work, and how period poverty was contributing to women’s struggles with the cost of living.

“No one should feel stress or shame about managing a natural monthly cycle. If toilet paper is produced free in workplaces then period products should be too. It’s about dignity, health and equality at work,” a speaker said.

One speaker from UNISON Sefton described her branch’s period poverty campaign, which aims to supply boxes of period products in every workplace.

Another motion called for the union to develop training packages for workplace representatives to support women going through perimenopause and menopause.

Rounding off the collection of motions on reproductive health was a commitment for the union to support and promote Sharon Hodgson MP’s campaign to increase awareness of ovarian cancer symptoms and improve early diagnosis across the UK.

One woman speaking in support of the amendment encouraged all women delegates, if they are experiencing unexplained bloating and discomfort, to ask their doctor to rule out cancer.

What the rise of the far right means for women

The conference also passed two motions committing the union to support feminist movements and advocate for social justice in order to counter the far-right’s influence.

Black women delegates described their experiences of increased racism, with one Muslim speaker recalling her childhood memories of hiding behind cars from skinheads, and feeling horrified that her daughter is now experiencing racism.

One woman, speaking in support of the motion, said “the far-right say they’re ‘protecting our women’ – well I’m not theirs. We do not need their protection, we need to stand united and protect all comrades from the threat they pose.”

One delegate cited the fact that two in five men who were arrested for last summer’s far-right riots had been previously reported to the police for domestic abuse.

Eileen Best, introducing a motion on the impact of the far-right on women working in public services, said, “Far-right politics increasingly points towards deregulating the labour market.”

Delegates were encouraged to join fellow UNISON members at the national march against the far right in London on 28 March.

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