HOW WE WORK

 

WHO WE ARE

Abortion Rights Scotland is an activist organisation built by its members and supporters. Abortion Rights Scotland is part of the national pro-choice campaign Abortion Rights.

 

We bring together individuals and affiliated organisations including trade unions, clinicians and policy makers. We campaign for free, safe, legal and local abortion services, provided and delivered by the NHS in Scotland. We want abortion to be free from harassment and regulated like all other healthcare provision (decriminalisation).

 

We are all volunteers and there is always lots to do. We need you and your ideas, so please get involved, whether you are an experienced campaigner or this is your first campaign.  We know you have something to contribute.

 

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

We hold regular meetings and events open to all pro-choice supporters. You do not have to be a member to attend. These are advertised across our social media platforms and on our website.

 

BECOME A MEMBER

Help make things happen. We need members to help by volunteering for our steering group, no election involved. We just ask that you spare a couple of hours each month and are able to attend a monthly meeting on Zoom (third Wednesday of each month from 7.30 to 9 pm). The more help we have, the more we can do. The monthly meeting is where we share out the work that needs to be done – everything from answering emails to helping organise events like today. You would never be asked to do anything you are not confident about doing, but if there is something that is new to you and you would like to learn how to do it, we will team you up with another member. It is all about making the pro-choice voice heard.

 

The 28th September each year is International Safe Abortion Day. We could post on social media, or with your help, we could organise a meeting or a demonstration.

 

We need to make abortion rights an issue in the election of MSP’s to the Scottish Parliament next year. We will begin organising for this in the autumn.

 

LINKING UP

Being part of a national campaign allows us to engage with members across the UK. We have two places for Scotland on the UK Abortion Right Executive. To stand for these places we would ask that you are a volunteer on the Scottish steering group, to allow for information to be shared between the two bodies.

 

We work with equality groups in Scotland through the Scottish Government Advisory Group on Abortion Law Reform. We are also very pleased to have a representative from Engender on our steering group.

 

The trade union movement remains one of the largest membership organisations in the UK and historically it has been an important defender of abortion rights. Working with this movement allows us to reach a wide audience and many people who work in abortion provision.

 

We have affiliation from a number of Scottish Trade Union branches.

 

Across the UK there are a number of organisations working for abortion. When they have meetings on Zoom, we make every effort to send a representative from our steering group along who reports back to us. This helps us to maintain an overview of the progress on abortion law reform across the UK.