Two conflicting women's lib abortion 011 demand."

Mrs Amanda Binns of
• ri Women's lib for and
against abortion

Two conflicting women's lib campaigns for and against abortion have been launched within a week of each other as 1975, named by the UN as Women's International Year, begins. "Women for Life" went public with a Press conference off Fleet Street this week, expressing concern "that many sections of the Women's Movement regard women's liberation as inseparable from a policy of abortion 011 demand."
Mrs Amanda Binns of Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, one of the 12 young founder-members, said she had been refused membership of her local women's lib group because of her opposition to abortion.
She said the campaign launched earlier by the Abortion Law Reform Association in 'conjunction with the National Council for Civil Liberties with 'the theme "A Women's Right to Choose" was "meaningless or misleading. Today one is presented with only one alternative — abortion. There is little possibility of a woman
choosing any other way." .
A mother of two, Mrs Binns said she was very surprised when her doctor, finding her pregnant for the second had immediately asked: "What do you want to do with it?"
A friend of hers in a similar situation had exactly the same response from another doctor. There was also a growing concept among people of some mothers "being unfit to bear Children."
She thought people were being increasingly careless about becoming pregnant hecause abortion was available. "Abortion creates its own clientele," she said.
Ignorance of the fact that a baby had already developed a sensory system at four weeks old and at six to eight weeks was sensitive to pain seemed almost deliberately fostered, she said. The baby was carefully called "a foetus" or referred to as "the contents of the womb."
Ms Debbie Saunders, mother of two and herself an illegitimate child and mother of fatherless family, is also a founder member of "Women for Life." She said: "I am in full agreement with any move to secure women their full rights. We still have a long way to go; there are tnany areas of discrimination against us legally, socially and economically.
She added: "Abortion certainly is not happy for the child and can have unforeseen adverse effects, physically or mentally, on women. From conception there is another person involved, whose rights arc equal to those of the mother, the father, or anyone else.
"We do not solve the Third World food crises by genocide. We do not relieve the conditions of workers, coloured immigrants or battered babies in this country by prescribing death for these people, so why abortion'!" .
The opposing ALRA campaign is asking for the right to abortion on demand for all women during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy. 1.ord Willis has said he would be willing to introduce a Bill into the Lords, giving women rather than doctors the right to decide on abortion. A draft of the Bill makes health the only reason for refusing an abortion after the 12th week, Mrs Binns said she hoped their campaign would receive
support from Women's Liben-as they back all of the generally
accepted Working Women's Charter, except its support of abortion.
"Women for Life" can be contacted c/o Ms Debby Sanders, Flat 2, 45 Russell Terrace, Leamington Spa, Warwickshire.