PROTEST FOR ABORTION RIGHTS, 3 March

Peach (Peace Ethics And Consistent Human rights) supports the aims -

"- Improved access to and increased choice of publicly funded contraception.

- Clear, honest, comprehensive and confidential sexuality and relationship education for all children which addresses issues of consent and domestic violence.

- A real 'right to choose' which also means the right to have a child free from economic and social pressure. This requires a real living wage for all workers, benefits which can be lived on and rise with earnings, universal publicly funded childcare and an end to the stigmatisation of single mothers".

but we go further still by saying that Human Rights must protect all humans from the first moment they exist i.e. fertilisation. I am not a catholic or any other religion - I am anti-religion, my stand is based on the basic biological fact that preborn humans are alive and are - - human.

We believe that the kind of rights you rightly seek (as below) have been partially blocked through the availability of abortion. There are employers who have sacked pregnant women,because the woman refused to have an abortion e.g RAF, women have been thrown out of their accommodation by landlords who don't want pregnant women in their properties,
some women have had to give up their education because they wanted their child and education, but some colleges say no.

We support sex education for all commencing at the age of 5 (like in Scandanavia) and free and easily available contraception, better rights for single mothers and more support from the community of pregnant women. (We are active supporters of gay, lesbian and transgenders rights).

We do not judge or condemn women who have had or seek abortions we only condemn the circumstances she finds herself in that drives her to contemplate and obtain abortion.

We are sure there must be a better way for women to obtain equal rights rather than dispose of their offspring, men need to be more involved with the whole reproductive scenario, they need to make responsibility.

Peach is calling for a Common Ground approach to women's equality and the elimination of abortion. I'm sure we can work together on those things we agree with and try to resolve the thorny issue of the right of life of all humans with patience, understanding, respect and goodwill!

My very best wishes,

Peter Wakeham
co-founder of Peach

Men should have a responsibility to safe consensual sex, of course, but beyond my need to have my opinion about being a father taken seriously by my lover, I have absolutely NO RIGHT to be a part of the abortion process beyond what my lover grants me. Unless she grants me the right to have power on matters that involve her body, I have nothing but my voice and my trust in her decision-making. In the same way, until she grants that zygote/foetus the right to decision over her body, that foetus is parasitic and, on a base level, a violent aggressor, and she has every right to protect herself in whatever way she sees fit.

And, to conclude rather crassly, if anybody believes that an expanding marble-sized mass of cells is a human being, they better get here quick with an arrest warrant before I pick off this clegnut that's been developing in my crack.

In Ireland, our pro-choice meetings are attended equally by
men- not unusual. in fact their support of women's rights
in this country is heartwarming and necessary.

Oh of course I think it's essential that men take part in women's struggles, we're all in this together. But I think you misunderstood me. I meant that men should have no automatic right in the actual abortion process, using the same pro-choice logic that it's a woman's body and therefore her choice who is involved in making a decision that will affect her body. I have no problems with men as struggling feminists.

I won't be asking George H to go shopping for clegnuts if they can not tell the difference
between a developing human being and a clegnut.

We are not advocating men interfering with the woman's decision on abortion, but we are saying that too many men expect their female partner to consider abortion in the event of a so-called accidental pregnancy.

There are two parties in sex and both should take equal responsibility, why should the woman be burdened with these kinds of decisions - men aren't. We know of women who are pressured by men to have abortions - men have no right to pressure women. Men say "you either get rid of it (the pregnancy) or I'm off". This is the kind of irresponsibility which leads to unnecessary abortions. Surely, women are worth better than that!

I've heard so many times the argument about pitching the rights of zygotes against the rights of women - we believe this is a false position, we're arguing for the equal rights of women AND the preborn. George H should remember (as I do) that we wouldn't be able to argue these points if our mothers had decided to terminate us, we all started life in our first habitat -the womb, we continue our lives in the second habitat - our family, then our third habitat is whatever we choose, usually. Most of us took this journey.

Best wishes, love & Peach


Peter Wakeham