Kate Beckinsale and Claire Foy among 60 stars to demand changes to Northern Ireland abortion law

Claire Foy and Kate Beckinsale
Getty Images
Kate Proctor21 November 2018
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Dozens of the UK’s best-known female actresses, athletes and writers have added their names to a campaign demanding changes to Northern Ireland’s abortion laws.

The intervention from more than 60 stars, including Claire Foy, Claudia Winkleman, Kate Beckinsale, Gemma Arterton and Jodie Whittaker, comes as the province’s strict abortion rules come under the spotlight again this Friday. They have urged Theresa May to support a Ten Minute Rule Bill, tabled by Labour MP Diana Johnson, that would decriminalise abortion there.

In a joint letter to the Prime Minister, they wrote: “Give us choice and control over our own bodies. Abortion law treats women as criminals.”

They demand that Mrs May “stands with women” and described the current situation as an “affront that hurts us all”.

The stars wrote a joint letter to the Prime Minister on Northern Ireland's abortion law 
Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images

The female celebrities, who have been brought together by Amnesty International, join almost 50,000 other people who have signed a petition calling for women in Northern Ireland to have access to free, safe and legal abortions. MP Ms Johnson said: “The situation in Northern Ireland is grave and urgent. My bill has support from almost every UK political party and will be in Parliament on Friday. The Government must give it the time it needs to progress. Women need this change.”

Gemma Arterton was among the celebrities to sign the letter (Photo by David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImage)
Dave Benett/WireImage

The 1967 Abortion Act does not extend to Northern Ireland. More than 900 women from the province travelled to England for an abortion in 2017, an rise of over 25 per cent on the year before and the highest level since 2011.

Senior Conservative MP Nicky Morgan, a co-sponsor of the bill, said: “There are many desperate women and families who need help now and shouldn’t be asked to wait for political situations such as Brexit to be resolved.”

The bill is unlikely to be debated in the Commons on Friday, but is listed for a second reading and the stars want Mrs May to give it time to be debated. A government spokesperson said: “Any question of future reform to laws or policy is rightly one for a restored government to debate. That is why this Government is focused on restoring devolved government in Northern Ireland.”

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