People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll has welcomed the report of the NI Abortion and Contraception Taskgroup, calling it ‘important’. He said:
“People Before Profit endorse NIACT’s call for easier access to contraception, for proper Relationships and Sexuality Education, and for commissioning of abortion services.
“We share NIACT’s vision “that every child in Northern Ireland is born into a family that has both the will and means to support their needs and nurture their development, with support from the state as needed”.
“This important report provides information to clinicians and policy makers about the kind of services which would best provide evidence-based, not religious-based, reproductive health care, and I welcome that.”
“I also want to welcome the Save the Children factsheet on child poverty which is very timely. It is deeply troubling that children growing up in poverty while both parents are working has doubled in the last decade, from 17% to 35%.
“Those who would stop the provision of abortion services here ignore how hard it is for working class families to make ends meet these days. Too many families find they cannot welcome another child because of the impact of welfare reform, especially the benefit cap and the two child policy. The latter affects families who would have relied on working tax credits, as well as those on benefits.”
ENDS