My Body, My Choice:
‘No womb for politics'
26th September
London, UK
On a special night in September, an audience with many new faces joined us to discuss the future of abortion and reproductive healthcare in the UK, with an expert panel.
In the wake of Roe v Wade falling in the USA, the team at AnotherWay Now decided to dedicate an event exploring reproductive rights in the UK. We curated an expert panel to host an intersectional discussion with our engaged (and sometimes enraged!) audience.
After watching a short film looking at the past, present and future of reproductive rights, we welcomed the panel to the stage. We heard their perspective from legal and medical experience, and our audience were shocked to hear some of the statistics on this issue.
We heard from those fighting to defend our access to reproductive healthcare
We met the activists advocating for birthing people's rights
We explored the history of British abortion rights
We learnt how to fight for pregnant people's right to choose
The conversation could have continued for another hour, but by this point our audience were desperate to join in and ask their burning questions!
The theme of the Q&A quickly became inclusion – discussing who, where and when all people can have reproductive rights. Whether it be on the basis of race, identity, gender, geographics, legal and migration status, there is more to be done for reproductive rights and conversations such as ours on this fantastic night.
In somewhat of a coincidence, we begun discussing the rights of trans parents, which is a significant part of our October event – ‘Trans Rights Revolution’ at Borough Yards on 5th October. It was fantastic to hear the support the audience has for this imperative topic.
We were proud to see our panel and audience be able to have these tough conversations in a space of compassion and education. We thank them all for their bravery, honesty, and trust throughout the evening. We handle human rights from an intersectional feminist stance, and know that together, we can continue to learn from each other and must support the rights of all. This event was a beautiful demonstration of how this looks in ‘real life’!
The Panel
Panellist: Dr Charlotte Proudman
Dr Charlotte Proudman is an award-winning barrister, Cambridge academic and campaigner fighting for women's rights in and out of court. Charlotte represents survivors of rape, domestic abuse and coercive and controlling behaviour in court whilst also challenging misconceptions across the sector. She uses her knowledge and experience of the justice system to advocate for legal change to ensure protection and support for victims and survivors. Ranked as Legal 500’s Leading Junior, Charlotte is described as: ‘Charlotte is taking the protection of vulnerable women and children in the Family Court to the next level by a unique combination of academic rigour and unashamedly activist passion.'
Charlotte has fearlessly promoted gender equality under the law. She has successfully spearheaded campaigns to change the law for women. Charlotte was instrumental in the criminalisation of forced marriage, virginity testing, hymenoplasty and child marriage. Alongside Girls Not Brides, Charlotte advocated increasing the age of marriage from 16 to 18 years old.
Panellist: Jonathan Lord
Jonathan is a consultant gynaecologist at a large acute NHS Trust in the South West where he is the clinical lead for the abortion service. He holds several national roles, including co-chair of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (Home | RCOG) abortion taskforce and the British Society of Abortion Care Providers (www.bsacp.org.uk) – the organisations that are responsible for and promote quality in women’s health and abortion care.
Along with improving abortion care provision, his other clinical priority is in teaching good techniques to reduce pain and discomfort in gynaecological procedures like coil fittings and outpatient procedures, advocating for much wider use of simple but effective local anaesthetics like self-administered numbing cream, local anaesthetic sprays and inhalation agents.
Panellist: Dr Sonia Adesara
Sonia Adesara is a medical doctor, campaigner, and former National Medical Director’s Clinical Fellow. She is on the executive committee for Abortion Rights UK, and is the former co-chair of the Young Medical Women International Association. Her non-clinical work includes working for the National Cancer Charity Macmillan and the women’s rights charity Fawcett Society. She has written for newspapers alongside political journals and regularly features on the broadcast media discussing women's health and UK politics.
Moderator: Phoebe Davis
Phoebe is a reporter with Tortoise Media covering health, education and government for their flagship daily newsletter – the Sensemaker – and award-winning podcasts. Before joining Tortoise, she worked as a freelance researcher for Unreported World and Channel 4 Dispatches and with major Iranian network ManotoTV. Her writing has appeared in the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Times and the Daily Telegraph.