Big Sexy Talk
Highly commended in the Irish Podcast Awards 2023 – Best Sex & Relationships podcast
Do you remember all the family gatherings spent discussing the joys of sex around the dinner table? Or the classes in school where your RE teacher showed you how to put a condom on a demonstrator? No? REALLY! If, like us, you didn’t have those cosy conversations about sex growing up, then this is the podcast for you! Big Sexy Talk is brought to you by Informing Choices NI. It is produced in mini-series format, with each collection of episodes focusing on a different area of sexual and reproductive health. We conduct in-depth interviews with key influencers, and provide information on sexual and reproductive health services. Join us on a journey as we create a culture of openness about sexual and reproductive health and empower people with the information they need to make informed choices. After all this is a sexual health podcast, so it is.
Big Sexy Talk
1.06: (Dr Laura McLaughlin) - Providing safe and compassionate abortion care
The final episode of the first series contains an in-depth interview with Dr Laura McLaughlin. Dr McLaughlin is co-chair of Doctors for Choice NI, and a member of the Northern Ireland Abortion and Contraception Taskgroup. Following the decriminalisation of abortion Dr McLaughlin worked alongside healthcare professionals and Informing Choices to establish local early medical abortion services, and currently provides abortion care in Northern Ireland.
Dr McLaughlin reflects on her experiences of working in the health service in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Canada; how the previous abortion law in Northern Ireland impacted upon medical professionals and the care provided to women; the formation of Doctors for Choice NI; the impact of Covid-19 and the establishment of early medical abortion services in Northern Ireland; conversations with medical colleagues around the provision of abortion; how abortion is viewed by women and society in Northern Ireland; and her aspirations for sexual and reproductive health going forward.
If you would like support around a sexual health issue you can call the Sexual Health Helpline on 028 9031 6100.
Useful links
https://informingchoicesni.org/pregnancy-choices-counselling
https://www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/abortion-services
Resources
Report from the Northern Ireland Abortion and Contraception Taskgroup published in March 2021 on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Northern Ireland
Report published by Informing Choices NI in June 2021 entitled Beyond Decriminalisation: pregnancy choices and abortion care in Northern Ireland
News articles
An Irish News article from April 2020 on the launch of the central access point into early medical abortion care
An article from June 2020 on abortion provision in Northern Ireland written by Dr Laura McLaughlin
An Irish Times article from October 2022 on the uncertainty of abortion provision in Northern Ireland featuring Dr Laura McLaughlin
A Belfast Telegraph article from December 2022 on the commissioning of abortion services in Northern Ireland featuring Dr Laura McLaughlin
Video
A video created by Doctors for Choice UK called 'Kind to women: how the 1967 Abortion Act changed our lives'
