We've defended reproductive rights from religiously motivated restrictions since our founding.
Religion should not stand in the way of reproductive healthcare.
A desire to restrict reproductive rights, and to control women's bodies, is a hallmark of religious fundamentalism. We strongly support the right of women to have legal and safe abortions and access to emergency contraception.
Since its founding the National Secular Society has supported reproductive rights. In 1878 our founder and vice-president were prosecuted for making information about birth control accessible to working class women.
Throughout the world, reproductive rights are still under threat from theocrats. While individual religious people hold diverse views on abortion, every stage of progress in reproductive healthcare has been fought by religious organisations. Often these have involved virulent campaigns of intimidation and misinformation.
84% of people in the UK believe abortion should be legal in all or most cases. This includes 76% of religious people and 94% of nonreligious people.
In the UK, emergency contraception can still sometimes be difficult to obtain. Some religious pharmacists have defied General Pharmaceutical Council guidance by refusing to sell it or even to dispense a prescription given to a woman after a consultation with her own doctor.
People of all religions and beliefs can have disagreements on the boundaries of bodily autonomy and reproductive rights. However, religious beliefs should not be used to restrict the bodily autonomy of other people.
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Latest updates
Anti-abortion “pregnancy support” charity launched in Scotland
Posted: Wed, 17 Nov 2021 10:46
An anti-abortion "pregnancy support service" that has previously misled women has registered a new charity in Scotland.
The National Secular Society discovered Stanton Healthcare (East of Scotland) registered in Edinburgh in late October.
Stanton Healthcare's Belfast clinic says its clients "receive medically accurate, non-biased information about options in a confidential and professional setting".
But in 2018 an investigation by The Times revealed it was falsely telling women that termination causes breast cancer and infertility.
A counsellor at the Belfast clinic of Stanton Healthcare was recorded telling an undercover reporter that she was "too beautiful for abortion" and that a termination would make her breasts "fill with cancer".
Lesley Regan, then-president of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists, said it was untrue to claim that abortion caused breast cancer. Claims about infertility were also untrue because they were based on outdated techniques, she said.
Stanton Healthcare was originally set up by Brandi Swindell, a US Christian activist.
The Edinburgh branch says its charitable objects include "the advancement of the philosophical belief in the existence and equal value of human life from the moment of conception until natural death".
Its executive director is Donna Cameron, a parishioner of a Catholic church in South Queensferry, according to a "Pro-Life Parish Life" newsletter.
The newsletter, which appears to be published by the Catholic Archdiocese of St Andrews & Edinburgh's Pro-Life Office, describes Stanton Healthcare as a "pregnancy support service".
It also says the archdiocese will support the charity's "much needed work through our parishes, the pro-life network and our communication resources."
Cameron has declined to provide details of the medical advice the charity will be providing.
Scottish charity regulator OSCR says registered charities "must have activities which provide public benefit".
Stanton Healthcare's registered charitable purposes include "the advancement of religion". The National Secular Society is campaigning for "the advancement of religion" to be removed from the list of recognised charitable purposes, because it believes "the advancement of religion" does not inherently serve a public benefit and in some cases causes harm.
A spokesperson for OSCR said: "Based on the evidence we gathered during the application process, we determined that the organisation's purposes were charitable under the legislation and the activities it plans are intended to provide public benefit, taking into account all the factors the law requires us to consider, including possible disbenefit to the public."
NSS head of policy and research Megan Manson said: "It is concerning that a charity with such a questionable track record on advising pregnant women has registered a branch in Scotland.
"Charities have a duty to provide a public benefit. Any organisation that provides misleading healthcare information due to religious biases cannot be fulfilling this duty and should not operate as a charity."
Carol Mochan, Scottish Labour's spokeswoman on women's health, said there were "serious questions" to be asked regarding the organisation's charitable status.
In 2014, Education for Choice published research involving 33 'crisis pregnancy centres' in the UK. The majority of which were "found to be giving misleading information on the mental and physical health outcomes of abortion, and/or using inappropriate language and emotional manipulation when it came to discussing pregnancy options".
Beware religious impositions on women’s health, says NSS
Posted: Thu, 8 Apr 2021 16:12
The National Secular Society has urged the government to ensure women's health is prioritised over religious concerns in response to a consultation.
The NSS has responded to a call for evidence from the Department of Health and Social Care on a proposed strategy for women's health in England.
The society warned that women in religious communities, particularly conservative and insular communities, often face significant barriers to information and education that may be relevant to their health.
The society added that the government should seek to protect women's individual rights, and shouldn't necessarily accept that community and religious leaders speak on behalf of women within their communities on relevant issues.
Reproductive rights and violence against women
Among the points it raised, the NSS said:
- Abortion should be decriminalised and free access to abortion clinics without intimidation or harassment should be protected.
- There should be stronger action against charities which condone or promote misogyny, violence against women and girls, or FGM. Ministers should also be aware that religious 'courts' may play a part in prolonging domestic abuse.
- Pharmacies should ensure women can access the morning after pill without having to go elsewhere, amid examples of women who have been refused service by staff citing religious concerns.
- The government should ban 'virginity testing'.
- LGBT+ women in religious communities in particular may be more vulnerable to mental health issues and may be targeted for 'conversion therapy'.
Religion and women's health in schools
The NSS also addressed the role of schools' approach to relationships and sexual health in part of its response, saying:
- Religious opt-outs and exceptions for relationships and sex education enable some faith schools to teach stigmatising ideas about contraception, abortion, menstruation and same-sex relationships.
- Repealing the parental right of withdrawal from RSE would enable more girls to understand these issues.
- Some state-funded faith schools have worked to limit girls' education on relevant issues.
The society also expressed concern that language in recent government guidance on period products in schools and colleges appears to suggest parents' religious concerns may take precedence over their daughters' needs and preferences.
For example, the guidance says: "Parents or carers may object to the use of some period products. You should consider the views of learners and parents or carers from all religious and cultural backgrounds when ordering products."
You can read the NSS's submission in full.
Image: Miriam Doerr Martin Frommherz/Shutterstock.com.
