05.05.2004

Guildford Respect defends a woman's right to choose

I must record my thanks to John Molyneux, South East Respect regional organiser, who called me late last week to suggest I contact friends and comrades in the anti-war movement and start a local branch of Respect, and offered a great deal of useful advice. Armed with this, I spent a couple of hours on the phone, and had soon assembled a small core of members willing to support Guildford Respect, including two new recruits to Respect nationally.

I was elected secretary, and my fellow CPGBer and also fellow Red Platform member, Jem Jones, was elected chair. We suspect we may be unique in being the only branch in the UK with a CPGB/Red sympathising majority. We also suspect that comrade Molyneux may not have been aware of our local support when he called me - though, as a good democrat, I am sure he welcomes the diversity we bring.

We discussed recruitment plans, took membership fees and a modest collection, and moved to political discussion: a vital part of any Respect member’s contribution to their organisation. Comrade Rae Trumble expressed concern at George Galloway’s recent expression of opposition to woman’s right to choose, and the reactionary echo this had received from the Muslim Association of Britain. She proposed the following resolution:

“Respect confirms its respect for a woman’s ownership of her own body, and her absolute right to free abortion on demand, complete with medical advice and professional physical and psychological support for both her and her partner.”

This resolution was passed unanimously and with acclaim, and is currently on its way to Respect.s regional and national offices.We look forward to their response, and the information we also requested about putting this motion to Respect.s next national gathering. We call on all Respect branches to respect every woman.s right to choose, and on George Galloway to respect and represent the views of the members he represents, which he well knows to be predominantly pro-choice, rather than his own private opinions.