Advocacy and opinions
Advocacy at MSI UK
Our expert medical, clinical, governance and advocacy team members work to inform and influence improvements to sexual health services, access to care and progressive policy in the UK.
Advocacy intersects with all departments here at MSI Reproductive Choices. We have always pioneered an ‘advocacy by doing’ approach – showing what works, speaking up publicly, pushing for change and ensuring positive reforms are implemented. This section shares the ways in which we share our expert opinions and advocate for safe, legal and accessible sexual and reproductive healthcare for all our clients.
“When you work in abortion care, advocacy is inseparable from service delivery. Most people in the UK are pro choice but there’s an aggressive, ideological minority that opposes what we do at every chance they get, so we have to advocate fiercely for women and others who use our services.
At MSI we take a rights based, results based approach to advocacy, with gender equality and reproductive rights always at the centre of all we do.“
Position papers and policy briefings
Our UK position papers and policy briefings outline our stance on key medical, clinical and safeguarding issues in the media spotlight that affect our clients.
Safe access zones around abortion clinics in England and Wales were signed into law in May 2023, but they are yet to come into force. As anti-choice harassment and intimidation around clinics continues, it is of paramount importance that these safe access zones are implemented as soon as possible.
Read our letter to the Home Secretary (November 2023).
In Great Britain, abortion sits within criminal law. We recommend that Abortion in Great Britain be removed from criminal law. This document sets out our position on decriminalisation, with six key recommendations.
Read our Position Paper – Decriminalisation of Abortion Care in Great Britain (September 2022).
Since the government permitted telemedicine abortion in March 2020, the service has been a success. It has reduced waiting times, brought down the average gestation at which abortion is carried out, and allowed clinicians to make the safest decisions for the individual, instead of forcing everyone to follow a one-size-fits-all model.
This briefing sets out the main reasons why offering the option of telemedicine for early gestations, where it is safe and clinically appropriate, is regarded as best practice by experts around the world, regardless of whether there is a global pandemic.
Read the briefing here: Briefing – Telemedicine Abortion Beyond COVID-19 (2022)
Over the past 25 years many of our centres and clinics have been targeted by anti-abortion individuals and groups gathering outside. We need Safe Access Zones around all premises which are registered to provide abortion care services with the Department of Health and Social Care.
Read our Position Paper – The need for Safe Access Zones (March 2020)
Consultation responses
We produce submissions to government consultations and inquiries on issues that impact our clients, from harassment outside abortion clinics, to access to domestic abuse services and abortion law reform. Our expert clinical, medical and governance teams inform our evidence-based submissions to positively influence government policy and legislation.
Violence against women and girls (VAWG) takes many forms. At MSI UK, we work with many survivors of rape, intimate partner violence, and other forms of gendered violence. This includes provision of contraception, abortion, counselling and other services to many women and girls who have experienced reproductive coercion, which is a form of VAWG.
Read our evidence submission: Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) strategy 2021 to 2024: call for evidence
MSI Reproductive Choices UK experience of providing telemedicine in England has shown the current arrangements to be safe, convenient, accessible and to have reduced waiting times.
Summary of our response and recommendations
We strongly recommend abortion via telemedicine is kept as an option after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Indeed, the body of evidence in favour of telemedicine is now so robust that it is difficult to see how removing this option could be justified on clinical or scientific grounds.
Read our Consultation Response: Early Medical Abortion at home – UK Government (2021).
While it is widely recognised that false medical information is extremely serious, there appears to be a lack of dedicated focus or resource given to tackling misinformation and disinformation which relates specifically to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). Within the global approach to tackling false information, MSI UK considers there should be a dedicated focus on false information which relates to SRHR, especially abortion.
Read our Submission – UN Office of High Commissioner- false information
Our clinic in Ealing made history on the 10th April 2018 by implementing the first ever Safe Access Zone around an abortion clinic in the UK.
The PSPO was made for the maximum three-year period allowed by the legislation and is due to expire on 10 April 2021.
We strongly recommends the renewal of the Public Service Protection Order (PSPO) on Mattock Lane for the full three years.
Read the Public Consultation Response on Mattock Lane Safe Zone- Ealing Council.
MSI Reproductive Choices UK (MSI UK)’s experience of providing telemedicine in England has shown the current arrangements to be safe, convenient, accessible and to have reduced waiting times.
Summary of our response and recommendations
We strongly recommend abortion via telemedicine is kept as an option after the COVID-19 pandemic is over. Indeed, the body of evidence in favour of telemedicine is now so robust that it is difficult to see how removing this option could be justified on clinical or scientific grounds.
Read our Consultation Response: Early Medical Abortion at home – UK Government (2021).
We call for government to mandate co-commissioning of sexual health services, to end fragmentation of services and allow patients to have all their contraceptive needs met following this pandemic and throughout their lives.
Read the Inquiry Response – APPG SRH Access to Contraception in England (2020).
Research and thought leadership
Our research and thought leadership section is where you can find published research papers, either led by us or to which we have contributed.
Research from MSI Reproductive Choices UK focusing on patient voice has revealed that abortion at home is the preferred choice for 8 out of 10 women and two thirds would choose it again should they ever need an abortion in future, even if Covid-19 were no longer an issue.
Read the “Acceptability of no-test medical abortion provided via telemedicine: analysis of patient-reported outcomes” published in the BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health.
We have collaborated on the largest ever study of abortion care with researchers at the University of Texas, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service: “A telemedicine‐hybrid model for medical abortion that includes no‐test telemedicine and treatment without an ultrasound is effective, safe, acceptable, and improves access to care.”
Read the study “Effectiveness, safety and acceptability of no‐test medical abortion provided via telemedicine: a national cohort study” published in BJOG International Journal of Obstetrics & Gynaecology.
An accessible 2-pager the national cohort study’ authored by researchers at the University of Texas at Austin, MSI Reproductive Choices, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service and National Unplanned Pregnancy Advisory Service.
This analysed the outcomes of more than 50,000 EMAs between Jan and June 2020 both before telemedicine was introduced and after to compare data.
Read the 2-pager policy brief “Evidence From Over 52,000 People in England and Wales Shows Telemedicine Abortion Without Ultrasound Is Safe, Effective and Improves Care.“
An article by Louise McCudden, Advocacy and Public Affairs Advisor for MSI Reproductive Choices UK, for BMJ Sexual & Reproductive Health’s blog on the new telemedicine abortion research and evidence.
Read the article at this link: “New telemedicine abortion research puts patient voices front and centre“
Reports
Our governance and assurance structures are designed to ensure we consistently provide a safe, effective, caring, and personalised service for everyone who comes to us.
Our teams produce two annual reports to share details of our world class safeguarding and quality innovation.
Coalitions and Networks
Collaboration
We support and partner with allied organisations, campaigners, advocates, Royal colleges and professional bodies within coalitions and networks to improve access to sexual and reproductive healthcare across the UK.
Coalitions
- Voice for Choice – The UK’s national coalition of pro-choice organisations.
- Back Off Coalition – The national coalition to stop harassment and intimidation of women outside abortion clinics.
- We Trust Women Coalition – The national coalition to decriminalise abortion across the UK.
Expert Networks
- The Advisory Group on Contraception – An expert advisory group of leading clinicians and advocacy groups to discuss and make policy recommendations on contraception services.
- Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Abortion Taskforce – An expert group to ensure women have access to safe, sustainable, high-quality abortion care services.
APPG for Sexual and Reproductive Health
We are proud to support the All Party Parliamentary Group for Sexual and Reproductive Health. The APPG is a group of MPs and Peers looking to raise awareness of abortion and other sexual health needs across the UK.
“We bring together Parliamentarians, experts and campaigners to examine issues within sexual and reproductive healthcare in the UK, and to explore options to improve healthcare through policy and legislative change.“
Find out more about the APPG for Sexual and Reproductive Health.
Press statements
MSI Reproductive Choices provides press statements on a number of important issues that are linked to innovation in abortion care, improving understanding of abortion services, smashing abortion stigma and supporting our clients to make the reproductive health decisions that are right for them.
