Street theatre Welsh Office steps

Description

Street theatre on the steps of the Welsh Office, Temple of Peace and Health, Cathays Park, Cardiff, on 9 February 1982. A petition was handed to the Welsh Office objecting to a proposal to alter the information which doctors were required to submit to authorise an abortion. The protest in Cardiff was part of a Day of Action called by the National Abortion Campaign.
The women participating are (from left to right): Penni Bestic (bishop/ the church), who is pulling the strings of Megan Davies (civil servant/ Department of Health and Social Security), who is pulling the strings of Kate Middleton (judge/ the law), who is hitting Sue Hayes and Jayne Browning (doctors/ the medical profession) over the head with her gavel. The woman the far right is Susanna Marsh, a feminist who worked for Cardiff Women’s Aid and who helped set up the Women’s Centre in Coburn Street, Cathays, which is where the Street Theatre group prepared and from where they walked to the Welsh Office. Megan Davies contributed an interview to the Safe & Legal project.