Epistle of a discussion group hosted by London Young Adult Quakers

‘Fascinating discussion about a sensitive topic.’

‘To all Friends everywhere,

‘On Sunday 31st March 2024, twelve Friends gathered at Westminster Meeting House for a discussion group, hosted by London Young Adult Quakers (LYAQ) to explore the topic of “Can healthcare be illegal: Discussing the issues with decriminalising abortion as opposed to legalising it”.

We opened with a period of silent worship and then Kit King, co-clerk of LYAQ, introduced the topic. Kit also introduced Jo Parker, who facilitated the discussion. Jo is a young Friend who grew up attending Carlton Hill Meeting in Leeds and moved to London for university; they are now one of the co-clerks of LYAQ. They have a degree in Politics and Social Policy from the London School of Economics, and they now work as a client care coordinator for MSI in Brixton, one of the leading reproductive health organisations in the UK.

‘Jo described what the law currently says about abortion rights and Friends raised questions and issues about different parts. For example, it is necessary for two doctors to approve an abortion before it can be had, meaning they have the power to deny someone an abortion after hearing their reasons for requesting one. Some Friends wondered if doctors should have this power over someone’s bodily autonomy. Others wondered if this was best practice due to cases of requesting an abortion after finding out the sex of the foetus. Jo also described two case studies where women were criminally investigated after having an abortion and we incorporated this context into our discussions.

‘We then went on to discuss if there should ever be a reason why someone should be denied the right to have an abortion through hypotheticals such as:

• What if the non-pregnant partner is willing to raise the child on their own?

• What if somebody wants to have an abortion because of the gender of the baby?

• What if somebody wants to have an abortion after finding out their child will be disabled?

• ‘We closed the discussion with a period of worship. We thank Jo for facilitating this fascinating discussion about such a sensitive topic and we look forward to the next one of these discussion groups.’

Signed in and on behalf of London Young Adult Quakers, Kit King, co-clerk.

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Comments

If an abortion is denied before the 24 week limit (and I have yet to see this happen in 50 years of sexual health work), try the private sector.

The chief problem is usually pressure from a partner to keep or not to keep the pregnancy, and aranging support for th ewoman myindeed be difficult

By Lesley Bacon on 18th April 2024 - 8:56

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I regret the use of the word ‘gender’ in the second bullet point, it would have been less confusing to use the word ‘sex’.

Sex is determined at conception, in the mother’s body. We are told gender is “a deeply-held feeling” which may be acquired following birth as the child responds to society’s stereotypes.

I note with relief that the webpage ‘Quakers in Britain pledge to stand with trans community’ no longer includes Paul Parker’s assertion that gender is a sacred gift!

By Ol Rappaport on 1st May 2024 - 12:45

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