Women march to demand their own right to choose, reports Lindsey German
The appalling case of a woman with three children sentenced to imprisonment for abortion under a Victorian law has brought protesters onto the streets demanding decriminalisation of abortion and a woman’s right to choose.
A lively demonstration assembled at the Law Courts in the Strand in London and marched to Parliament Square. It brought together women of all ages, some of them veterans of campaigns going back to the 1970s, some very young students, and some men.
There were many homemade placards expressing the need for women to be free from restrictive laws and to control their bodies.
The campaign to decriminalise continues and is vital for the safety and well-being of women everywhere, especially working-class women who suffer particularly under these laws.
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Counterfire is growing faster than ever before
We need to raise £20,000 as we are having to expand operations. We are moving to a bigger, better central office, upping our print run and distribution, buying a new printer, new computers and employing more staff.
Lindsey German
As national convenor of the Stop the War Coalition, Lindsey was a key organiser of the largest demonstration, and one of the largest mass movements, in British history.
Her books include ‘Material Girls: Women, Men and Work’, ‘Sex, Class and Socialism’, ‘A People’s History of London’ (with John Rees) and ‘How a Century of War Changed the Lives of Women’.