The Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation (CALM) will be meeting next Wednesday 25 May to bring supporters up to date with plans to lobby Island politicians to modernise what it sees as outdated and discriminatory legislation.

2015 figures just released by the UK Department of Health show that the number of women with Isle of Man addresses choosing to have terminations in the UK has risen nearly 17% year on year. Shocking though this increase is, CALM is concerned that these figures are just the tip of the iceberg, as they don’t include those women who use family addresses across or who obtain early medical abortion pills online, and by doing so leave themselves open to prosecution.

“The 105 women identified in the statistics had to pay clinic fees, travel and accommodation themselves,” says CALM spokeswoman Samantha Morris, “but those who aren’t mentioned in the figures are just as much of a concern. The current law, the Termination of Pregnancy (Medical Defences) Act 1995, is both medically and financially discriminatory, and CALM’s mission is to show the Island’s legislators how it really affects women here, and how it can be updated to make it more equitable.”

Next Wednesday’s meeting, at 7.30pm at the Manx Legion in Douglas, will also see the launch of an online petition to galvanise public support for the campaign, and the reveal of the official CALM publicity material, including a leaflet to be sent out to health professionals, GP surgeries and everyone standing in the general election.

The meeting is open to anyone, and all are welcome.