Students can make a real difference on campus by breaking the taboo around the issue of abortion, influencing your MPs, building support for the pro-choice movement and raising crucial campaign funds.

Please find below some simple steps you can take on campus.

1)     BUILDING SUPPORT FOR THE NATIONAL PRO-CHOICE CAMPAIGN

Now is the time for students to add their active support to the pro-choice movement.You can help by:

· Joining Abortion Rights yourself and encouraging other students to join at the new special offer price of just £5 and adding your voice or abortion story to www.prochoicemajority.org.uk.

· You can hold an event, run a stall, do a stunt or anything to raise awareness for Abortion Rights and the anniversary. Please see below or contact us for more ideas or support.

· Working to pass pro-choice policy in your students union or women’s group and affiliating you union or group to Abortion Rights. We can help with model motions and support.

2)     BREAK THE TABOO:

· Distribute pro-choice stickers and badges for students to wear. You can make these yourself or order them from the office.

· Distribute the leaflet ‘Its OK to talk about abortion’ available to download .

· Put up Abortion Rights’ pro-choice posters around your students union.

· Set up a computer on your stall or at your event for people to add their voice or story to www.prochoicemajority.org.uk.

· Organise a banner for students to sign and publicly show their support for a woman’s right to make her own abortion decisions. You could paint on slogans such as ‘time to break the silence on abortion’ or ‘I support a woman’s right to choose’ or ‘trust women to make their own abortion decisions’. If you take a digital photo and email it to us, we can publish it on our website and include it in national media and lobbying initiatives.

· Organise pro-choice supporters to have their photo taken with a pro-choice slogan to be posted onto our website.

· Organise a speaker meeting or film screening. We have a library of films and documentaries and are happy to speak at meetings, diary permitting.

· Write an article or letter in your student newspaper or local press.

· Organise a pro-choice stunt, such as women walking about campus wearing the t-shirt ‘I had an abortion’ or 'I am the pro-choice majority'. Get your own t-shirts printed or order from the office.

3)     LOBBY YOUR MP

Students have a crucial roll to play in influencing their local MPs to support advances in women's abortion rights and oppose attempts to chip away at rights, particularly the time limit.

· Abortion Rights is promoting a postcard lobbying campaign in defence of the time limit on abortion. The anti-choice movement are using sensationalist attacks on later abortion to spearhead their campaign to chip away at all abortion rights. You could organise a stall in a busy area with postcards and a home made pro-choice post box. You can help students to identify their MP by making available a list of local MPs names and constituency boundaries. It will also help if you can organise to post the cards yourself and save individuals the postage costs!

· Contact your MP and encourage them to sign an excellent parliamentary 'Early Day Motion' number 1649 'Access to Abortion', which counters myths from the anti-choice lobby about psychological harm to women from abortion. The motion (available here) was tabled by leading pro-choice MP Laura Moffatt and is already attracting strong support. It is important that as many MPs as possible add their support to undermine any confusion sewn by the anti-choice lobby. Please contact your MP to ask them to sign the motion. You can contact  your MP at www.theyworkforyou.com. If your MP has signed it already, please send them a thank you note.

· If you can arrange it, a computer on the stall to allow students to send an e-postcard to their MP attracts surprising levels of interest.

· MPs are disproportionately influenced by face-to-face meetings. You could make a real difference by arranging delegations to meet with MPs in your area. We can provide evidence based briefings and advice to help prepare your visit. We are compiling a database of parliamentary opinion and would really appreciate feedback from your meetings.

4)     FUNDRAISING

Abortion Rights does not receive government or big corporate sponsorship to fund its work to safeguard women’s crucial rights. Every penny that you can raise for the campaign will make a real difference. You can help by organising:

· A fundraising club night or party.

· Collecting donations on your stall.

· Paying for the pro-choice campaign materials you receive from Abortion Rights if you have a budget. Cheques are payable to Abortion Rights. Please let us know if you would like an invoice.

· Encouraging students to play the pro-choice lottery – leaflets are also available.

Please keep in touch and let us know how your event went!