RMT issued the following news release today ...

RAIL, MARITIME and transport union RMT has welcomed MPs’ decision not to lower the legal time limit for abortions from the current 24 weeks.

"Our union supports women's right to choose whether or not to continue a pregnancy, and we welcome the rejection by MPs of attempts to cut the time-limit,” general secretary Bob Crow said today.

"We know that whenever access to safe, legal abortion is restricted, it is working-class women who suffer the most.

“That is why we see this as a trade union issue and why we wrote to all Labour MPs urging them to reject attempts to cut the time limit” Bob Crow said.

“Few women have abortions after 20 weeks, but those who do are usually the most vulnerable, struggling with very difficult circumstances,” said Janine Booth, chair of the union's national women's advisory committee.

“The best way to reduce the number of late abortions would be to take effective measures to reduce unwanted pregnancy, and to make access to earlier abortions easier, for example by improving NHS provision,” Janine Booth said.

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For further information contact Derek Kotz on 020 7529 8803 or 07939 595 092

Note to editors: MPs voted 332 votes to 190 against a proposal to reduce the time limit to 20 weeks, and by 304 votes to 233 against 22 weeks. A proposal to cut the limit to 12 weeks was also defeated.