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
Secular Medical Forum condemns Irish abortion law cruelty
Posted: Wed, 14 Nov 2012 12:49
The Secular Medical Forum has condemned the state of abortion laws in Ireland after a 31-year old woman died of septicaemia following a protracted miscarriage in Galway, Ireland.
It was reported this week that Savita Halappanavar repeatedly asked for her non-viable pregnancy to be medically terminated but this request was refused and she was told that Ireland is "a Catholic country". Mrs Halappanavar subsequently developed septicaemia and died.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, The Secular Medical Forum said it believed that "this death could have been prevented if Ireland's law on abortion focused upon the need of vulnerable patients, rather than upon Catholic doctrine. The SMF believes that healthcare should be provided free from the intrusion of religion. Bioethics is hindered, not helped, by relying upon religious sentiments.
"The SMF is aware that women around the world suffer due to the imposition of religious beliefs which takes away their autonomy over their own bodies. If this case had occurred in the United Kingdom, it would have been legal for Mrs Halappanavar to have a safe abortion. However in the UK there is the continual threat to abortion rights by religious groups who wish to inflict their particular beliefs upon other people. The SMF defends the right of religious people to hold their beliefs; however, patients must remain free from unwelcome religious interference.
"The SMF is saddened that Mrs Halappanavar had to die in order for this issue to make the front page of this morning's Irish Times. The SMF hopes that Ireland's abortion laws are reformed so that this tragedy is not repeated."
See also: Ireland's abortion ban: a history obstruction and denial
Callous treatment of raped girl in Poland leads to condemnation in Human Rights Court
Posted: Thu, 1 Nov 2012 15:48
Poland's harsh anti-abortion laws were condemned this week by the European Court of Human Rights after an almost unbelievably callous series of events were inflicted on a teenage victim of rape.
The girl — who was 14 when she was raped in 2008 — became pregnant and tried to have a termination but was forced into hiding after harassment from anti-abortion groups led to her being turned away from hospitals.
Terminations are only permitted in Poland in cases of rape, incest or when the life of the mother or foetus is in danger. The girl, known only as "P", obtained a certificate from the public prosecutor confirming that her pregnancy was due to rape.
The girl went to two different hospitals in the southern town of Lublin where she lived. At the first one, a Roman Catholic priest tried to persuade her to keep the baby. The hospital then issued a press release announcing that they had refused to perform the procedure. This resulted in her being targeted by anti-abortion fanatics who made the case public.
She then travelled to Warsaw, where the hospital said that they were under pressure not to help her. The court documents say the girl and her mother left the hospital "feeling manipulated and helpless", after which they were harassed by pro-life groups and eventually taken in for several hours of police questioning.
The authorities then accused the mother of trying to force her daughter into having an abortion and had "P" placed in a juvenile shelter.
The girl eventually had the abortion in Gdansk after the Ministry of Health intervened in the case.
In their ruling, which is subject to appeal, a panel of judges at the European Court of Human Rights found that there had been numerous breaches of the girl's rights.
The court found that she should have had unhindered access to lawful abortion and that the details of her case should not have been made public by hospital authorities. The Polish state was ordered to pay the teenager and her mother 61,000 euros (£49,000) in compensation.
The Catholic Church is relentless in its opposition to any relaxation of the abortion laws in Poland– the strictest in Europe. Its tactics, as in this case, are often pitiless towards desperate women who want terminations. Its influence is such that it can pressure hospitals to turn women away even when they qualify on one of the very limited legal grounds.
The topic of abortion is a constant cause of controversy in Poland, with liberal pro-abortion groups arguing that the Church should be removed from political influence.
See also: Court rules against "blasphemous" Polish rocker who tore up Bible
