In the campaign for James White's anti-abortion Bill a central weapon has been the vicious anti-abortion book Babies for Burning Now this tract has been revealed as a tissue of lies, fabrications and profound ignorance.
Even the Sunday Times, hardly noted for its progressive views on the matter of abortion felt compelled to give eight columns in its 30March issue to exposing what it called the fantasies of the book's authors, Michael Litchfield and Susan Kentish:
Litchfield claimed that an un named doctor with supposed Nazi sympathies was prepared to sell him foetuses. As Litchfield had presented himself as a soap salesman the impl ication was that the foetuses were for soap. The same doctor tured out to be old, deal and Jewish who had lost a wife in the Nazi death camp at Auschwitz.
INVENT THEM If facts do not exist then unvent them is obviously a maxim to which Litchfield furmly adheres. The book claims that a Doctor Malcolm Kidley of Boston, Massachusetts had conf essed thet he aborted babies so late in pregnancy that their mothers were already in labour There is however no record what soever of a De Malcolm Ridley liv ine in either Boston, or for that matter in the United States Nur has any one with that namc cver been granted a licence to practice in Boston.
Susan Kentish wrote that seven pregnancy tests found urine samples positive although she was not prep nant. Mr Alan Driscoll, a consultant synaccologist at the private Mount Alvernia mursing home in Gulidford told the Sanday Times the urine the had given to the agencies had not been passed in the presence of the agencies testing il." The Kentish allegations rest therefore on samples which were never checked by an ind ependent investigator nor passed on any of the seven different agencies premises Litchfield himself is a proven public liar. This Conservative cand idate in the election last ycar claims to be a Pulitzer Prize winner. Profof the Pulitzer Prize, says no Michael Litchficid has ever won the prize. Litchhield aiso claimes to have been educated at Boston University, Well essor Jolin Hobenburg, administrator six days in the US he must lave been e brilliant child prodigy or a remarkably fast worker the US Immigration Files show that between 1955 when he was 16 and now, Litchfield spent less thap The twu authors have not been short of enthusiastic camp followers. The News of the Worid very work. cary jumped on their bandwagon when in April 1974 it front paged sclections front their book enewited with its own lurid allegations.
The two main protagonists of the campaign to toughen up the Abortion giving absolute and unconditional Act, James While and Leo Ass also banged the drum for Babies for burnOver 1,200 wotten met at the sovath National Women's Liberation Conference Conference opports the aims of the in Manchester last weekend. In addition to many workshops on the demands of the WL.M, Issies such as equal pay, the situation of lesbian teachers, worn in the modis, battered women and so on was the stress placed on concrete cam pains and the intemational dimensions of the struagle agalist the oppression of women, There were aestions on Indochins, activity over the next few monthsand Chile and Spain-partoularly the delenice campaigs for Eva Forest Also takeo ap was the continnation of the Wurking Women's Charter Campaips.
The fight against the vidious anti was recognised an a central priority. The ing. Now that the gaff has been blown on Litchfield and Kentish, buth Mr White and Mr Ase are becoming coy about their support for the hous.
Neither has yet of course denounced it as a distorted and lying volume UNPAID LABOUR As this book shows, the ruling class and its servants will go to any lengths to defend their system. Litchfield and Kentish have been exposed as cheap little liars. But do not worry, capitalism will find other such hacks it can buy to do its dirty The workers movement cannot sloply restrict itself to exposing such books Its task is to fight to drive all sexist ideas out of the labour novo ment and to campaign in carest for the ful rights of women, That means support to the right of women to free abortion on demand, Sollowing resolutine was passed This National Aburtion Carpaign, thrit is to fight current attempts at legislation to restrict a wortant'& right ba chonse That Cienefure women's grouns shonid affiliate to, and work closely with NAC. James White's will will take awuy the few rights we now have aver the control of ou own fertility. the lge worsen to make the abortion campaign the locus of their to make this a starting polist for a con tinuing campaie to extier a woun right to chouse.
The seays and moses to take thie and other canpalges forward will be one of the crucial questions facing the fortr coming conference on the urgenisation