Abortion at 15 changed my life, says Wales Green Party candidate

A candidate for the Senedd election in May has said she hopes sharing her own experience of having an abortion aged 15 will empower others to “understand the importance” of women’s health and rights.

Tessa Marshall, 28, said going through the experience while studying for her GCSEs “changed” her life, and led her to understand issues such as bodily autonomy and sex education.

Marshall spoke openly about the topic for the first time while addressing sixth form students at a recent school hustings event in Ysgol Plasmawr, Cardiff.

After the event, she said women’s rights needed to be “defended” in a political environment where some still wanted them “taken away”.

Marshall, a candidate for the Wales Green Party in this year’s election, mentioned her abortion experience to pupils during her introduction at the school event.

Although the issue was not discussed further during the event, some students later said they appreciated seeing a politician talking openly about such an emotive and taboo subject.

“Having an abortion at 15 was something which changed my life,” Marshall told BBC Wales afterwards.

“Without access to abortion I would probably have a 13-year-old child now, and that access is not something that is guaranteed to women in other places around the world.

“It meant that the disruption to my exams was minimal. It put me on a path to understanding the importance of human rights, bodily autonomy, and women’s rights, and that is why I shared it.”

Abortions in Wales, England and Scotland are legal up to 24 weeks of pregnancy, and beyond that timeframe if there are severe health risks.

Since 2020, abortions in Northern Ireland have been allowed for pregnancies up to 12 weeks, but after that are only lawful in specified instances including foetal abnormalities.

Marshall said the circumstances leading to her abortion happened because of a lack of “proper sex education in school”, and she said she was not “given proper information” at the time.

“Making sure that young people have access to the correct information, to make the right decisions about their health, is so important when it comes to sex,” she said.

Reflecting on the situation formed part of her political awakening, which she said was still an ongoing issue today.

“We’ve seen that in America, the right to abortion has been taken away from women there,” Marshall said.

“It’s really important that we defend the right to abortion, and the right to have an abortion close to home.”

Marshall said young people should be empowered to access the “education that they need”, even if they are from cultural or religious backgrounds which might oppose abortion.

“It’s important that people have the right information, the right access and the right resources to understand how they can protect themselves, when they’re engaging in sexual activity.”

If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, the BBC’s Action Line contains a list of organisations which can provide support.