Anti-abortion group drafted in as sexual health adviser to government

[oldironside]

"A group which is opposed to abortion in all circumstances and favours an abstinence-based approach to sex education has been appointed to advise the government on sexual health.

The Life organisation has been invited to join a new sexual health forum set up to replace the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV.

Stuart Cowie, Life's head of education, said: "We are delighted to be invited into the group, representing views that have not always been around on similar tables in the past."

In contrast, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has been omitted from the forum despite its long-term position on the previous advisory group and 40-year track record in providing pregnancy counselling nationwide."

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/may/24/abortion-sexual-health-coalition

So, the Americanisation of British society continues. I look forward to the May Day holiday being moved to 4th July and would like to know where I queue up to get my gun. Still, one of the comments made me smile:

"Do these pro-abstinence bastards follow through on that train of thought and preach the joys of wanking? Or is that verboten too?"

[LeftishBrit]

1. Ugh.

In Oxford, we have the joy of having a branch of the Life group right on the doorstep. In the past, the people connected with them seemed at least to be single-issue types without too much interest in politics in general; but their current representative, the Reverend Lynda Rose, is a nasty character, who has had a horrible influence on our politics already. Here is the extremist group Christian Concern's version of it:

http://www.ccfon.org/print.php?id=1070

If she had acted in her official capacity, it would have risked Life's charitable status, which is probably why she presented herself as purely a Concerned Citizen.

Her earlier gems of theological discourse had included such remarks as 'What if Jesus had been aborted? (Not possible, according to basic Christian theology) What if Hitler had been cloned? (Not possible under anything like the present state of knowledge, and for that matter what if he'd been aborted? - it would have been a very good thing!)

So you will pardon me for being a bit jaded about this particular organization.

David Cameron has rightly said that British Muslims should accept British liberal values. How about his extending this to ALL Brits?

[non sociopath skin]

2. With respect, shouldn't that be "the Republicanisation of the Tory party continues"?

This is a sop to the Religious Right minority in the Conservative Party. I doubt whether the group's views would ever have a popular mandate in the UK.

The recent "Rally For Screwing The Poor Even More" in London was a pretty good indicator of the British Vox Pop on Tea Party-ism, I think.

The Skin

[oldironside]

3. Next thing you know...

... the Tories will be looking for a leader who is congenitally stupid, driven by an irrational sense of entitlement, incapable of succeeding in the real world and totally in the pocket of big business. Oh, hang on...

[LeftishBrit]

4. True; I don't think Britain is 'ready' for Palinism and the Tea Party, much as some might like it

But there are some bizarre characters around, notably the Tory blogger who calls himself 'Archbishop Cranmer'. Here is his Conservative Creed:

http://archbishop-cranmer.blogspot.com/2010/02/cranmers-conservative-creed.html

I believe in one Party,
Preserver of all that is good in our Constitution,
And of Individual Freedom, Limited Government, National Defence and the Rule of Law:
And in one Party Leader, the only-begotten of the entire Membership,
Chosen democratically by the whole Party...

By whom Conservatism is articulated and maintained;
Who for us Members, and for our earthly salvation came down from CCHQ,
And was invited by Her Majesty to form a Government,
And was made Prime Minister,
And was vilified also for us under the BBC...

And sitteth on the right hand of the Speaker.
And he shall come again with a larger majority to annihilate the Socialists and the Liberals:
And his Government shall have no end....

And I believe in one Conservatism, though it be severally termed 'One-Nation', 'Compassionate' and 'Progressive'.
I acknowledge one Membership for the right to select candidates.
And I look for victory at the General Election,
And for the realisation of the policies to come.
Amen.

(David Cameron is apparently the Second Coming of God!)

[oldironside]

5. Funny,

I thought this was the conservative creed.

http://youtu.be/qB0ZOu_EZ2M

Ah, la plus ca change...

[Hopeless Romantic]

6. Feminists shouldn't try to stifle debate about abortion

You cannot call yourself 'pro-choice' and then bar people who disagree with you from expressing their view

I'm struggling to understand quite why it is so terrible that the anti-abortion charity, Life, has been invited to join a government- advisory sexual health forum.

Former Liberal Democrat MP Evan Harris reckons that the presence of the group, which promotes sexual abstinence, could prevent the advisory panel from having "frank and open discussions". I'd say that open discussions are the last thing being sought when groups of people are convened because they all share similar views. It's not hard to be "frank" either, when addressing a circle of nodding heads.

The real problem is that those who strongly disagree with the views of Life fear that their inclusion in debate lends legitimacy to the organisation's position. But why? It is perfectly legitimate to be anti-abortion. In fact, it's quite understandable that people should be horrified by the idea of foetuses being terminated, when the conditions for growth and development into beautiful babies, adorable children, fine adults, may be in place. That's an entirely respectable position.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/may/26/feminists-shouldnt-stifle-abortion-debate

[oldironside]

7. Yes, and neither should Christians try...

... to stifle any debate that has moved on from the 14th century. These people are religious zealouts who believe that if we could just be really Christian, the world would be perfect. Like the Crusades and the Inquisition.

[Hopeless Romantic]

8. Agreed, it's always a bad thing for one group to try to silence the opinion of others

just because they disagree.

[LeftishBrit]

11. Nobody is 'suppressing' anyone's views...

this reminds me of the Monty Python line, 'Help! I'm being suppressed!'

It is quite common for right-wingers, especially but not exclusively the religious right (others, like the global warming sceptics, go in for it too), to equate any prevention from forcing their views into law with 'suppression'. At the moment, a lot of it consists of people claiming that Christians are 'suppressed' if they are prevented from discriminating against gays. But the 'pro-lifers' also do this.

There is no suppression. There are several anti-abortion organizations which are very prominent and very active. They have a significant role in lobbying MPs and other decision-makers. Committed 'pro-lifers' sit in both Houses of Parliament, and regularly put forward and debate bills to restrict abortion. In my town, as well as a branch of Life, there is the 'Anscombe Center for Bioethics', which is dedicated to promoting the conservative Catholic causes with regard to abortion, contraception, embryology, end-of-life decisions, etc. In one part of the United Kingdom, Northern Ireland, anti-abortion views have carried the day, and laws are different from the rest of the UK. If the laws are (fortunately IMO) different in England, Wales and Scotland, it is because people want them to be, not because anyone is being suppressed. If anything, certain pro-lifers through vicious smear campaigns against political candidates and other individuals, are often attempting to suppress other views. And, though there are certainly a number of anti-abortion Labour MPs, people who treat being anti-abortion as the *most important* issue are usually in favour of right-wing politicians and policies across the board. The political pro-life movement have at least to some degree contributed - and in nasty ways - to a variety of right-wing outcomes ranging from Bush getting a second term to my currently having a Tory MP, and in such ways, they have crossed my 'lines in the sand' with regard to my having any sympathy with them. Quite apart from disagreeing with them on the spedific issue.

This is about whether Life should be placed in a formal position of advising government, not whether their views should be heard. Actually, if *both* Life and the BPAS were represented, Deborah Orr might have more of a point, but the point is that the BPAS is being *replaced* by Life.


'people should be horrified by the idea of foetuses being terminated, when the conditions for growth and development into beautiful babies, adorable children, fine adults, may be in place'

They MAY - and then again they may not. And if they *are* in place, usually people don't have abortions! It is notable that those who most oppose abortion are often also those who sneer at single mothers as feckless and wish to treat them and their children as scapegoats. Conditions for unwanted children, or those whose parents can't or won't look after them properly, are often awful. Another current thread is the one about Sharon Shoesmith and the horrors that she failed to prevent. Would the combination of anti-abortion laws and the scapegoating of single mothers make such horrors any less frequent?

Also the Life organization, and similar ones, are not only anti-abortion but are supporters of abstinence-only education. Abstinence-only education has been a total failure, as shown in many research studies, and anecdotally by the likes of Bristol Palin. I admit (shows my age, I suppose) to being a bit socially conservative myself in what I'd LIKE teenagers to do; i.e. settle down a bit, get some maturity and preferably qualifications, before they start having sex; avoid casual and impulsive sex; etc. If I had a magic wand, all kids would be abstinent until 16 or older, and able to cope with the potential consequences including parenthood. But if I really thought this was going to HAPPEN, especially as a result of 'abstinence-only education', I would need to change my username to 'King Canute'. In any case, it is not only teenagers who are at risk of unwanted pregnancies!!!

[T_i_B]

24. "You cannot call yourself 'pro-choice' and then bar people who disagree"

That may be the theory, but I don't think the theory bears much resemblance to reality I'm afraid.

[Hopeless Romantic]

9. Government sexual health adviser to be hatchet-faced old bag

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/government-sexual-health-adviser-to-be-hatchet%11faced-old-bag-201105253863/

[oldironside]

10. I think it was George Orwell who said....

... that everyone has the face they deserve by the time they are 50. If she's a hatchet faced old bag, it obviously reflects her inner beauty.

"We are going to rut away like a Danish version of the Duracell bunny and frankly there's very little David Cameron can do, unless he plans to hide behind every KFC in Britain with a fire hose and a taser." Lovely image.

[non sociopath skin]

12. Meanwhile, the cranks continue to molest people.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/may/30/anti-abortion-protest-groups

Surely these types should be dealt with in the same manner as aggressive panhandlers?

The Skin

[oldironside]

13. I really can't believe this is happening in the UK.

I mean, we're the least religious nation on earth. That's why we invented cricket. To give us a taste of eternity.

Oh, just read the article. They are an American group. 'Nuff said.

[non sociopath skin]

14. Yes. Just trying to bring a little of the joy, tolerance and good sense of US fundamentalism ....

... to the Heathen of Yoorp.

The Skin

[oldironside]

15. Well, of course we're heathens.

We don't believe in the Rapture, whenever it may be.

[non sociopath skin]

16. Raptor? Kind of dinosaur, innit?

And you don't believe in it?

Closet creationist, eh? :evilgrin:

The Skin

[oldironside]

17. Stop messing with my head, man.

I thought I'd made a humiliating typo for a second. :dunce:

Of course I believe in the Raptor. I saw it in Jurassic Park.

[LeftishBrit]

18. I always manage to read it as 'Rupture'

[oldironside]

19. Ah, something serious...

... but not the end of the world.

[non sociopath skin]

20. Uncomfortable, though.

Is that why the Fundamentalist Christians take all their clothes off if they have one?

The Skin

[oldironside]

21. You mean like a...

... resurerection?

Okay, I admit I stole that from South Park.

[non sociopath skin]

22. Hee Hee

:evilgrin:

The Skin

[oldironside]

23. Don't stop now...

... I'm enjoying this.