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
Another Irish abortion scandal emerges
Posted: Thu, 22 Nov 2012 15:46
The Irish Government has paid substantial compensation to a woman who was forced to travel abroad for an abortion, despite being terminally ill with cancer.
Michelle Harte, of Co Wexford, sued for violation of her human rights last year. In 2010, after she became unintentionally pregnant while suffering from a malignant melanoma, doctors at Cork University Hospital advised her to terminate her pregnancy because of the risk to her health. Her obstetrician was willing to perform a termination but was "hamstrung" by legal issues. The matter was referred to the hospital's "ad hoc" ethics committee. which decided against authorising an abortion on the basis that her life was not under "immediate threat".
Ms Harte has since died from her cancer.
Because of delays caused by her not having a passport and the time it took for the hospital to reach its decision, her condition deteriorated and she was not able to receive cancer treatment because of her pregnancy. Eventually she travelled, with great difficulty, to Britain for the abortion.
Ms Harte's lawyers then sued the State on her behalf for infringing her rights under the ABC case, in which the European Court of Human Rights ruled that Ireland had breached the human rights of a woman with cancer who had to travel abroad to get an abortion.
Maltese Catholic extremist examined for post of European Commissioner
Posted: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 16:54
On Tuesday, Members of the European Parliament examined Tonio Borg's bid to join the European Commission. Alarm has been raised about Mr Borg's performance in his home country of Malta, where he has opposed women's rights, gay rights and issues such as contraception and abortion. His Catholicism is conservative and this has informed his track record so far.
MEPs grilled the Maltese politician for three hours on his views and political record. Mr Borg insisted that he would observe all the conventions of the European Commission and honour the commitment to human rights. All the same, MEPs express very mixed feelings about his bid to take the public health, environment and consumer protection portfolio. Some questioned Borg on reports that he had adopted stances against abortion and gay cohabitation.
Borg denied the claims repeatedly. On abortion, he said that under the EU Treaties, issues surrounding abortion remain firmly within the competencies of the member states, but he said he would act as a European Commissioner, rather than a Maltese one. He said 14 years ago he was criticised in Malta for refusing to condemn as illegal the actions of a young woman who travelled to the United Kingdom for an abortion.
On issues relating to gay cohabitation, Borg said that he had helped to initiate rules in Malta designed to enable same-sex cohabitants to register their interests and had beefed up protections against homophobic crimes.
Sirpa Pietikäinen MEP (EPP), vice-chair of the Committee on Environment, Public Health and Food Safety, said: "Fundamental rights are not a matter of subsidiarity, they are universal. None of them are to be neglected or considered outside the competence of the EU, and I hope Mr Borg will abide by his unreserved commitment to these universal rights."
NSS honorary associate Michael Cashman MEP remarked: "I do remain concerned about Tonio Borg's track record. But given the reassurances he has given us on fundamental rights, I believe we could entrust him with the public health portfolio, and hold him strictly to account on the commitments he made tonight. He said his door would 'always be open', so we should immediately work on issues such as blood donation for gay men, the depathologisation of transgender people, and sexual and reproductive health rights."
Another NSS honorary associate, Sophie in 't Veld MEP, said: "He gets a clear 'no' from me Tonio Borg said he won't abandon his views, and I'm very much opposed to them – his Europe isn't my Europe. The Parliament cannot ask the Commission to press ahead with better fundamental rights, and then vet a Commissioner with very different views."
Green MEPs Ulrike Lunacek and Raül Romeva said: "Even though Mr Borg brandished subsidiarity and the treaties when asked about his personal views, we don't trust him to go beyond the strict minimum and actually defend the Charter of Fundamental Rights, rather than simply abide by it. The Commission must not only respect minimum standards; it must set these standards – and set them high. We do not trust him to work for all EU citizens regardless of their gender and of their sexual orientation."
Dennis de Jong MEP, Member of the Committee on Internal Market and Consumer Protection, said: "Mr Borg appeared to be competent, but he fell short of expectations when he refused to endorse the horizontal anti-discrimination Directive, which the Commission proposed in 2008, and which all Commissioners stand by. Avoiding concrete answers on legal proposals is a very negative sign."
Members of the European Parliament will now discuss Mr Borg's performance within their political groups. The plenary of the European Parliament will then vote on his nomination next week in Strasbourg.
