Isle of Man Freethinkers have donated £1,000 to the Abortion Support Network, based in London.

Some of that money is earmarked for Manx and Irish women during the transition period to new legislation, but the bulk of it has helped establish an abortion helpline for women in Gibraltar and Malta. Manx donations are funding about a quarter of the project.

Stuart Hartill, secretary of the Freethinkers, said: ’The beginning of the process which led to the eventual change in Manx law can be exactly dated to a night in 2016 when Mara Clarke of ASN outlined uncomfortable truths to the Manx public at a meeting co-hosted by the Freethinkers and the Positive Action Group.

’Without that, Manx women would not have been inspired to form CALM, and Manx politicians would not have even considered reform. Now is the time to repay that debt, and when Mara mentioned the hotline project to less fortunate British territories it was the obvious method.’

Mara Clarke, of the Abortion Support Network, said: ’A Big ASN thanks to the Isle of Man Freethinkers for their £1,000 donation. We will put their funds to excellent use, helping people in Malta, Gibraltar, Ireland, Northern Ireland and, for the short-term future only, people from the Isle of Man. We are beyond delighted that the Freethinkers, as part of the Isle of Man’s Campaign for Abortion Law Modernisation (CALM) are at the end of their campaign for free, safe and legal abortion to the Isle of Man. We love this "pay it forward" gesture of solidarity to help those who still live in places without access to safe, legal abortion.’