The UK government's newly appointed Health Secretary, Thérèse Coffey, has insisted that she doesn't seek to "undo any aspects of abortion laws” after concern was raised about her voting record on abortion rights.
The Conservative MP, who was appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Deputy Prime Minister, has consistently voted against key abortion laws. Back in 2010, Coffey introduced a motion calling for women seeking abortions to have mental health assessments and – more recently – opposed extending the right to access abortion pills at home.
In June 2020, following the US Supreme Court's landmark decision to repeal Roe v. Wade, Coffey said, “I would prefer that people didn’t have abortions, but I am not going to condemn people that do.”
In an interview with Sky News, Coffey reiterated that she would be focused on “ABCD – ambulances, backlogs, care, doctors and dentists,” adding, "I'm conscious I have voted against abortion laws. What I will say is I’m a complete democrat, and that is done. It’s not that I’m seeking to undo any aspects of abortion laws.”
A win for feminism? We think not.
Despite Coffey's reassurances, it's still deeply concerning that the UK's Health Minister doesn't actively support the essential right to abortion, which is a fundamental aspect of healthcare.
MSI Reproductive Choices’ UK Advocacy and Public Affairs Advisor Louise McCudden told GLAMOUR, “It’s essential that the UK government continues to protect abortion as essential healthcare, and indeed as a human right.”
Louise also outlined the following policies, which MSI are keen for the government to act on:
Buffer zones: “Buffer zones have been extremely effective at a local level in protecting abortion clinics from harassment - and unfortunately, harassment outside clinics appears to be on the increase.
“There is cross-party support for such a measure. Backing national buffer zones would send a clear signal to anti-choice groups that no matter your personal feelings about abortion, harassing people, especially women, while they access essential medical care is simply unacceptable.”
Access to contraception: “A major reproductive rights issue is access to contraception, especially for women in the most deprived parts of the country.
“We urge the government to restore public health investment, specifically for sexual and reproductive healthcare, at least to pre-2015 levels, and to use the long-awaited Sexual and Reproductive Health Action Plan as an opportunity to tackle this problem head-on with practical, compassionate solutions.”
Decriminalisation: “In Britain, abortion still sits within criminal law. It is difficult to imagine under what circumstances it could ever be in the public interest to prosecute a woman for ending her own pregnancy, yet that is what the law, as it stands, allows.
“The government could send a major signal that it supports reproductive rights by updating our antiquated, Victorian laws and removing abortion from the criminal code altogether, allowing it to be regulated as any other comparable forms of healthcare.”
“The prospect of losing my rights to govern my own body is making me physically ill”.
Clare Murphy, Chief Executive of the British Pregnancy Advisory Service, BPAS, also commented, “Every politician is entitled to hold their own opinion on abortion. But what matters is whether they would let their own personal convictions stand in the way of women’s ability to act on their own.”
Murphy called out the new Health Secretary's voting record on abortion rights, saying, "Earlier this year, the new Health Secretary voted to revoke access to at-home abortion care, and recriminalise women who end their own pregnancies without the approval of two doctors.
“In doing so, Therese Coffey voted against the advice of leading medical bodies including Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, the Royal College of Midwives and the BMA. To have a Health Secretary who would place their personal beliefs above expert clinical guidance is deeply concerning.”
She continued, "We are a pro-choice country, and we have a pro-choice parliament. BPAS, alongside other women’s charities and healthcare bodies, will continue to work with parliamentarians to advance abortion rights regardless of which MPs form the next Cabinet.”
Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor
Kwarteng has generally abstained from voting on abortion rights. In 2021, he voted for improving the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
James Cleverly as Foreign Secretary
Cleverly has generally abstained from voting on abortion rights. In 2021, he voted for improving the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
Suella Braverman as Home Secretary
Braverman has repeatedly voted against abortion rights: in 2017, she voted against decriminalising abortion; in 2019, she opposed a motion to extend abortion rights in Northern Ireland; and in 2022, she opposed making at-home abortions permanent.
However, she has twice voted to improve the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
She's Britain’s third woman prime minister.
Penny Mordaunt has been made leader of the House of Commons
Mordaunt has generally voted in favour of/abstained from key votes about abortion rights. She voted in favour of extending the pills-by-post abortion scheme, improving the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland, and the legalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland.
She abstained on a motion to introduce buffer zones around abortion clinics in the UK and on a vote to decriminalise abortion.
Michelle Donelan as Culture Secretary
Donelan has consistently voted against abortion rights, including improving the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland, extending the pills-by-post abortion scheme, legalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland, and the decriminalisation of abortion in the UK.
Simon Clarke as Secretary for Levelling Up
Clarke has generally abstained from or voted against abortion rights in the UK, voting against extending the pills-by-post abortion scheme, legalising abortion in Northern Ireland, and abstaining from a vote on introducing buffer zones in the UK. He has voted to improve the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
Anne-Marie Trevelyan as Transport Secretary
Trevelyan voted against the decriminalisation of abortion in the UK and the extension of the pills-by-post scheme. She voted to improve the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland and a motion to approve regulations imposing abortion legislation on Northern Ireland.
Nadhim Zahawi as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Minister for Intergovernmental Relations and Equalities Minister
Zahawi has generally voted in favour of or abstained from votes on abortion rights, voting in support of the legalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland and improving the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland. He has abstained on votes to introduce buffer zones around abortion clinics in the UK, extend the pills-by-post scheme, and decriminalise abortion in the UK.
Wendy Morton as Chief Whip
Morton has generally abstained from votes on abortion rights, with two notable exceptions: in 2015, she voted against decriminalising abortion in the UK, and in 2022, she voted against making the pills-by-post scheme permanent.
His approach has been described as “extremely aggressive.”
Kit Malthouse as Education Secretary
Malthouse has generally abstained or voted in favour of motions to extend abortion rights. Notably, he voted in favour of making the pills-by-post scheme permanent and of granting the Northern Ireland secretary powers to improve the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
Jacob Rees-Mogg as Business Secretary
Rees-Mogg has consistently voted against extending abortion rights, including extending the pills-by-post scheme, legalisation of abortion in Northern Ireland, and decriminalising abortion in the UK.
In 2017, he described himself as “completely opposed” to abortion, even in instances of rape and incest.
Kemi Badenoch as International Trade Secretary
Badenoch has largely abstained on votes regarding abortion rights in the UK. One notable exception is when she voted against making the pills-by-post scheme permanent in the UK.
Chloe Smith as Work and Pensions Secretary
Smith voted against making the pills-by-post scheme permanent. However, she voted to improve the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
Ben Wallace retains his position as Defence Secretary
Wallace has generally voted against extending abortion rights in the UK, including opposing decriminalisation, reducing the abortion limit to 22 weeks, and putting pressure on the Northern Irish government to change restrictive abortion legislation.
Spoiler alert, it does not make for impressive reading.
Jake Berry as Tory chairman and Minister without Portfolio
Berry has abstained from several important votes on abortion, including extending the pills-by-post scheme, introducing buffer zones around abortion clinics in the UK, and legalising abortion in Northern Ireland.
Alok Sharma retains his position as COP president
Sharma has generally abstained from important votes on abortion, except for voting in favour of granting the Northern Ireland secretary powers to improve the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland.
“This was a vote for evidence over ideology, a vote for reproductive rights, and a vote for gender equality.”
For more from Glamour UK's Lucy Morgan, follow her on Instagram @lucyalexxandra.
