Cornwall MPs have voted against abortion rights – Cornwall Live

Three of Cornwall's MPs have voted against the extension of abortion rights. Prior to 2019, abortion in Northern Ireland was illegal and women seeking a termination could face life imprisonment, contrary to international human rights norms.

Steve Double, MP for St Austell and Newquay, along with environment minister George Eustice, MP for Camborne and Redruth, and Derek Thomas, MP for St Ives and Penzance, all voted in Parliament in 2019 against making the Government able to extend abortion rights to Northern Ireland. Sheryll Murray, MP for South East Cornwall, abstained from the vote.

The vote was held as part of the House of Commons' measures aimed at keeping Northern Ireland public services running, two and a half years after devolved power-sharing collapsed. The MPs defended their vote against extending equal rights across the UK as intending not to interfere with legislation that they believed remained the domain of a local government at Stormont.

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The amendment was passed by a landmark 332 to 99 MPs, allowing women in Northern Ireland to enjoy the same rights to have an abortion before 24 weeks of pregnancy as the rest of the UK had experienced since 1968. Additionally, the legislation also saw the extension of same sex marriage pass into primary legislation in Northern Ireland.

Many criticised the MPs for not supporting the amendments in favour of these socially significant issues. Matthew Kenworthy Gomes, chairman of Cornwall Pride, said that it was insane to vote against equality. He said that while he respects their wish to not interfere in the Northern Ireland Assembly, it is apparent that on matters of ethics it is a vote for equality that takes precedence over all devolved assemblies. Equality is a human right.

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Sarah Newton, MP for Truro and Falmouth at the time, and Scott Mann, MP for North Cornwall, were thanked for voting in favour of extending the legislation.

In the wake of the US Supreme Court overturning the landmark Roe v Wade case on Friday (June 24), campaigners fear, anti-abortionists in the UK will also be fuelled - with the Faculty of Sexual and Reproductive Healthcare (FSRH) calling for the introduction of safe access zones around abortion clinics to protect patties from harassment.

One person has questioned whether our human rights are safe here in Cornwall. Commenting on an article published yesterday about rising under-18 abortion rates in Cornwall, the user said: "Let none of us forget that in 2019, Eustice, Double and Thomas voted to keep the ban on abortions in Northern Ireland. Dont think for one minute that any of our basic human rights are safe with these people in charge."

The Roe v Wade case protected the constitutional right of women across all US states to have access to an abortion. Many have been left in shock following its controversial and divisive reversal with protests being sparked in both in the US and this side of the pond in London and Edinburgh.

Trigger legislation in 13 states has already put the wheels in motion to ban abortions while a 13 more states are expected to follow. Abortion is banned with no exceptions for rape or incest in Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Missouri and South Dakota.

This makes the US one of only four counties to impose stricter abortion laws since the 1990s. The other countries include El Salvador and Nicaragua, where abortions are prohibited altogether, even in instances to save a womans life, and Poland which has the strictest abortion laws in Europe where the only exception is to preserve health.

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Cornwall MPs have voted against abortion rights - Cornwall Live