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NEWS Socialist Worker 1 April 2020
3

Tories’ failure to test for Abortionlaw

changes do
virus will cost more lives not go far

enough

RULES RELAXING access
by TOMÁŠ TENGELY-EVANS to abortion aren’t enough
to protect women in the
pandemic.
THE TORIES are trying to hide The Department of
their responsibility for the coro- Health has said that
navirus crisis as the number of women in England can take
patients rises by 1,000 a day. abortion pills at home—a
The death toll had already reached move that pro-choice
1,415 by Monday evening and the campaigners have argued
number of cases grew to more than for over many years.
22,000. Chief Scientific Officer Sir That’s a positive change.
Patrick Vallance warned that the sit- But after a week of mixed
uation will “get worse over the next messages, the department
few weeks”. said that the “measure
The Tory government is blaming will be on a temporary
everything apart from its own “busi- basis and must follow a
ness as usual” policies.
It squandered four weeks when
it could have been suppressing the
virus through mass testing, tracing
and shutting down non-essential
parts of the economy.
Ministers have been caught out
lying about reaching their target of
25,000 tests by mid to late April.
Michael Gove claimed on Sunday
that he couldn’t “give the exact
percentage” but that the number was
“significant”. He then quickly said
that 10,000 tests for the virus were Fighting for rights
being administered.
But on Monday Public Health telephone or e-consultation
England (PHE) officials said that with a doctor”.
only 8,278 tests were carried out on The rule changes relate
4,908 people as of 9am on Sunday. TORIES ARE holding back testing to early-term medical
This was a decrease from 9,114 tests abortions, which involve
as of 9am last Saturday. using other laboratories. He said, “losing the will to live” on Sunday. teachers to open them for plastic taking two tablets.
“We have 44 molecular virology labs His now deleted tweet came after gloves. Normally, women need to
Reliable in the UK. he was unable to get hold of medi- “We had enough equipment that get the permission of two
The home testing kits ordered by the “If they were each doing 400 tests cal gowns. we generated to support the dis- doctors and have to take
Tories might also not be as reliable as a day we would be up to Germany Hospitals are unable to discharge charge of 8 patients.” the first pill at a clinic, and
standard tests. levels of testing.” people to care homes because of the Thorpe added that a delivery by the second one at home.
The PHE’s lack of testing capac- But he added that PHE had been lack of personal protective equipment the British Army “did not include any But now up until the
ity in Britain is down to privatisation “slow” to allow other labs to test. (PPE). glove or eye protection”. tenth week of pregnancy
policies that broke up and shut hos- Health and social care services— Danny Thorpe, Labour leader The Tories have blood on their and after an online
pital pathology departments in the hammered by a decade of Tory aus- of Greenwich council in south east hands. consultation with a doctor,
2000s. terity—are already reeling under the London, had to issue a public appeal women will have the
Anthony Costello, a former direc- pressure. for donations of gloves, goggles and abortion pills sent to them
tor of the World Health Organisation Alan Hoskins, director of procure- masks last Thursday.  What’s your story? in the post.
(WHO), said additional mass test- ment and commercial services at He said, “I was driving round Email with your ideas The rule changes
ing could be made available through NHS South of England, said he was schools in my borough to get head reports@socialistworker.co.uk don’t go far enough to
protect the rights of tens
Outsourcers won’t pay of thousands of women
who will need to access
Socialist Worker A TOP boss at Amey, one of condition in that we will be paying abortion services during
the lockdown.
But they do show that it’s
Britain’s biggest outsourcing
The GMB was negotiating on
reproductive rights
companies, told workers he believes contractual entitlement.” possible to easily extend
coronavirus is “less severe” than behalf of refuse collectors in the Women in Scotland and
For daily updates and the stories that normal flu. London borough of Ealing, where Wales have received no
information about what
the company has the waste contract.
He says this justifies not paying
matter: socialistworker.co.uk special sickness benefits. workers by the government, the the coronavirus crisis
Despite being classed as key
means for their abortion,
Simon Schumann-Davies told a
GMB union negotiator, rubbish collectors are as Socialist Worker went to
“Ultimately it remains being offered only the press.
a disease like many contractual minimum if they And women in Northern
Download Whatsapp to your others. fall ill. In many cases that Ireland still face journeys
phone “At the end of this is the statutory sick pay of hundreds of miles long to
Save 07377 632 826 as current crisis, we must £94.25 a week. access abortion services
continue to have a
in England or Wales,
Amey has a £3.2 billion
Socialist Worker WhatsApp viable business.” turnover with contracts in increasing their exposure
“To this end, we are
Send ‘start’ to the number applying exactly the councils and prisons. to coronavirus.
Women should have
Supermarket firm Lidl
same rules regarding is also refusing to pay full full control over their own
sickness benefit as we wages to self-isolating bodies and their own lives.
would for any other Amey—rubbish pay workers. Sarah Bates