Tracy Brabin
Main Page: Tracy Brabin (Labour (Co-op) - Batley and Spen)Department Debates - View all Tracy Brabin's debates with the Leader of the House
(6 years, 10 months ago)
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Andrea Leadsom
This is an incredibly sensitive and important issue. To be very clear, it is my personal view that every women should have the right to decide what happens to her own body—that is very clear. The question of women from Northern Ireland accessing abortions in England is not one of whether they should have that access; it is a question of devolution and the fact that health is devolved to Northern Ireland. Therefore, it is a question of who should pay for it. What I can tell hon. Members is that the Department for equalities and the Department of Health are discussing and looking very closely at this issue today.
Tracy Brabin (Batley and Spen) (Lab/Co-op)
This week it was announced that surgery for my constituents who smoke or who are overweight will be restricted—in some cases, for up to a year. May we have a debate in Government time about the potential impact of this decision on my constituents’ health and mental health, and about the legacy of NHS rationing such as this?
Andrea Leadsom
The hon. Lady raises a very important point, and she may well want to apply for an Adjournment debate on it. She will appreciate that this issue is very much clinician led, but I nevertheless urge her to take it forward in an Adjournment debate.