'WHY is abortion not on the agenda. Are the backstreets so hard to remember?".
This chant from a hundred lobbiers finally heard by the Labour Party conference organising committee, and time was found — in the last hour of the conference support all campaigns and organised to defend the 1967 Act. It also called HACKNEY Against of Hospital on Saturday 2 1o 3pm provision day-care facilities in the area. Only 33 per cent of all abortions are on the NH$ in even the meagre facilities do exist are endangered with the area health authority's threat to close St Leonard's Hospital. The picket is at Hackney Hospital.
Homerton High Street, Fund-raising disco starting at 8pm at Hackney Trades & Labour Club, 96 Dalston Lane, E8.
Food. music. raffle and bar.
75p waged/50p unwaged. For further information contact Cath Young, 986 6739.
Mass lobby THE National Abortion Campaign planning meeting on 6 October has come up with some suggestions for action after the demo on 28 October.
On 5 February, the Tuesday before the third reading of the Bill; a mass was — to decide to demonstrations pro-abortion speakers in Hackney the Scottish demand the Corrie Bill.
abortion The carried out nackney and Corrie to mobilise which and estate leafleting to follows later, the day of the mass lobby.
Tickets period after bitter debate.
By Ann Henderson on Labour MPs to vote against the Corrie Bill. Liz Roberts from Streatham moved the resolution, 'I am very pleased that the issue was finally overwhelming support for the demonstration. "It is quite obvious that the fight has to be waged outside Parliament and that the main. • force will come from people demonstrating on will take the lead in bringing hospital workers out on the day and that the NUT associations that have taken a will VI LOTS staffrooms and classrooms. NAC in Scotland is calling on TUC to organise conference to fight the overall aim of NAC's campaign is to get the trade union leaders who say they are opposed to support among their members — male and female for a pro-abortion stance. Local NAC will e alming lor days of action with workplace meetings, trade union branch meetings, and factory push locally for commitments to strike action on Paris on the march GREAT news from Paris. More than 20,000 women marched through Paris at the weekend calling on the French government to renew the country's abortion law, which comes up for debate next month. The law, which permits abortion on request during the first ten weeks of pregnancy, was only passed in 1975 for a five-year At Salford College in Manchester over 150 students, mainly in their first year, turned up to see a film. Now they are hoping to set up a young women's group in the college.
Local activities are planned for Manchester on 20 October.
STOCKPORT Trades Council is But a price was paid before the organising committee would agree 1o a debate on abortion — ammendments dealing with a three line whip to end the "conscience cop-out' and detailing proposals to build the TUĆ demonstration had The proposal from Lambeth Central CLP asking conference to 'condemn the 55 Labour MPs who voted for the Corrie Bill' was also dropped when the NEC said it would oppose the abortion resolution as a whole if this was "This decision shows that the NEC are not prepared to take on the MPs who voted for Corrie. It is only when they are prepared to take up the issue of the three line whip that women will get a square deal from the Labour Ann Weyman, from the Socialist Medical pointed out that Heffer and Benn were some fighters for accountability of MPs when they weren't prepared to extend the principle abortion. Both of them opposed a three line "Their position is a total contradiction'. accountability on one hand and then leave the important issué os women's right to control their fertility to individual decisions of MPs. They are not in Parliament as individuals but to represent the labour movement.' north Sheffield discussion By Liz Lawrence A PUBLIC meeting, Bill sponsored by Council, was attended by 67 people Tickets were sold for coaches to the TUC demonstration, and ASTMS in donating £25 towards the cost.
Mel Read, member of ASTMS, main speaker at the meeting, called for mass labour movement action to defeat the Corrie Bill. She stressed the need to keep raising the question of abortion in the trade unions, when a union has adopted a policy of support for a woman's choose.
Read criticised Labour MPs such as Tony Benn who think that abortion is a matter of private conscience not party policy, and said that class women pay a very high price tot MPs' freedom of conscience'. • Jane Bruton Sheffield NAC, own experience as a student nurse she knew that backstreet abortions were still occurring in Sheffield.
Discussion at the meeting covered ways of taking up the abortion issue in the trade unions Party; plans for meetings; the weekly reading in February. reading.
This Labour against the September general Sheffield Trades a national executive who was the even right to 'working speaking for said that from her public meeting will be at Fulham Palace and the Labour factory gate Cleveland local day-care meetings the labour movement on this issue is Reg Race '170 Labour MPs have not voted at all, voted for the Corrie Bill. If they take the that it is their own individual conscience decide the issue, they are wrong. If they any conscience they should leave the issue fo delegations which put in resolutions have ser a letter to the NEC, calling for a three line whi at the third reading of the Corrie Bill.
Reg Race explained: 'In this letter we hav support for the TUC demonstration and hope that the NEC will be issuing thousands of leaflets and posters following the conferenc decision to support the demonstration.' The wide range of signatures collected for the letter, including from the NUPE and NUI delegations, indicate the significant support for the Campaign Against Corrie in the la Reg Race continued: 'I hope the letter wil be taken back to CLPs. We have to presserio the NEC, firstly to mobilise for the 28 Octobe demonstration, and secondly to get the righ decision in the House of Commons on the thăn 'We will have to work very hard on th Parliamentary Labour Party to change thei tactics may have gone awry, and be will not be voting for it at the next is just well since the Party Young Socialists subatting a resolacon to une nex management committee of the local Labour Party calling for a vote against the Corrie Bill, which i what the Labour Party conference overwhelmingly endorsed.
Two coaches will be coming from Huddersfield to the TUC demon stration. They are organised by NAC, but one is sponsored by the trades council and is receiving additiona financial support from NUPE am NAC has also been collecting signatures for the national petition and giving out leaflets in the low eact Saturday. holding a film benefit.
West London WEST LONDON NAC is holding a with speakers Joe Richardson MP, Dr Berry Beaumont and Antonia Bennett of NATHE. the Distillers Arms, Rd, Hammersmith, on Monday, 15 October, at 7.30pm.
CLEVELAND County Association of Trades Councils is organising a
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mpaign against the orrie Bill
¡ ABORTiON RIGHTS