Now for toNIght is a one-off evening of music to raise money for the Alliance for Choice and the Abortion Support Network to support the people of Northern Ireland and elsewhere in the UK who are still not afforded access to abortion and basic reproductive health services.

ACTS
Bad Honey
Paige Bea
+ TBC

Doors at 19:30.

Venue: DIY Space for London, Peckham

Tickets are £10 in advance and £12 OTD

In Northern Ireland, despite being part of the United Kingdom, the people have been bound by the draconian 1861 Offences Against the Persons act, which bans abortion in almost all circumstances including pregnancies as a result of rape or incest or when the foetus has a fatal abnormality, for over 150 years.

This makes these laws are among the strictest in the world and an affront to the human rights of the people of NI. While the rest of the UK were subject to the 1967 Abortion Act liberalising reproductive healthcare, Northern Irish citizens are still being forced to travel to mainland UK, the Republic of Ireland and beyond to access basic healthcare. This means that poor people, mothers, people with disabilities and other people in precarious financial and social situations are often unable to travel, making abortion a gender and class based issue. 

Until last week, as a devolved issue this human rights injustice was being maintained by the two-year power-collapse in Stormont (Northern Ireland’s parliament). While the recent overwhelming majority vote by Westminster MPs in favour of abortion access and equal marriage in NI is welcomed, there is still little certainty for the women of Northern Ireland whose rights have been so long forgotten and ignored. Last year, the ‘Repeal the 8th’ campaign in the Republic of Ireland showed how a women-led grassroots campaign could achieve a resounding victory for gender equality.

It is now time for NI to share in this emancipation and so, on Thursday August 29th we are raising money and awareness and showing solidarity by holding a night of music and poetry, mainly from upcoming women artists, to show that we care and that the North is Next, as well as raising money for women in Malta, Gibraltar and the Isle of Man who face comparable restrictions. 

Abortion Support Network: https://www.asn.org.uk/
Alliance For Choice: http://www.alliance4choice.com/