Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation (CALM) welcomes the launch of the new BPAS helpline for women who have taken illegal abortion pills who need advice and a supportive ear without fear of being turned in to the police.

Due to restrictive access to abortion on the Isle of Man many women who cannot afford to travel to England for an abortion, which can be from ?400 to ?2000, are forced into desperate measures including buying illegal abortion tablets on the Internet.

CALM calls on the Isle of Man government to modernise its outdated and unnecessarily restrictive abortion laws as a matter of priority so that women do not have to resort to an illegal DIY abortion.

Currently around 100 women a year are travelling to England for an abortion, these are just the ones we know have declared a Manx address. We know that on top of these numbers there are more women who use a relative's address and also more women who buy illegal abortion tablets online to induce an abortion at home.

CALM spokesperson, Samantha Morris says "The reality of our current abortion law is that it doesn't actually stop abortion happening, it only drives women to find other ways and means. For women with money that is travelling to England and to women without it can be the purchase of illegal abortion tablets or googling ways to self-abort which is both illegal and dangerous. But it is happening. Women should be given safe and legal access to abortion"

BPAS press release which explains how the helpline will work: https://www.bpas.org/about-our-charity/press-office/press-releases/helpline-launched-for-illegal-abortion-pills/ 

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