UK Life League
Encyclopedia
UK Life League is a British
pressure group that opposes abortion
. It describes itself as "The premier pro-life and family values campaigning organisation" and as "peacefully campaigning to end the violence of abortion".
The group's website states, "We believe that debate and argument will not achieve the necessary results. Pro-life groups have tried this avenue for years, and it is clear that they have failed. Whilst debate and argument have their place, what people really need is to be confronted with the grim and gruesome reality of abortion."
Life League is led by James Dowson.
organisations, hospitals and individuals, such as newspaper columnists and bloggers, whom they believe oppose their position. A spokesperson for Marie Stopes UK
states that aborted foetuses have not been disposed of in such a manner for over 20 years, and alleges that the "images come from American websites, and some look as if they have been tampered with." In 2005, Life League activist Veronica Connolly was prosecuted for sending offensive images to a pharmacy distributing the morning-after pill. In January 2007 Connolly lost an appeal to the High Court
.
In 2005, the group provoked controversy after publishing the address and telephone number of Woldingham School
, a Catholic
boarding school
, whose headmistress they accuse of "child abuse" and of teaching pupils "types of contraception they can use to facilitate recreational sex". The school responded that, "What we teach falls entirely within the national curriculum and the way in which we teach the use of contraception is in the context of a committed relationship. Every Catholic school in the country will be doing what we are doing", and expressed concern that the publication of the school's details had endangered its pupils.
Life League's tactics have been described by the police as "akin to those of animal rights
extremists" and the group's activities have been investigated by the National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit.
In 2006, the group characterised ethical guideline proposals by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics
that severely premature babies likely to suffer from severe disabilities not necessarily be revived as "calls for severely disabled babies to be killed at birth" and as "baby euthanasia".
In 2007, the group started expanding their campaign overseas by spamming their newsletter to people in other countries. The people receiving this spam did not ask to be subscribed, and the group ignores repeated unsubscribe requests.
In 2008, Searchlight Magazine reported that Midas Consultancy, a fundraising and management training company run by Dowson, had signed a three-year consultancy contract with the British National Party
News
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
pressure group that opposes abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. It describes itself as "The premier pro-life and family values campaigning organisation" and as "peacefully campaigning to end the violence of abortion".
The group's website states, "We believe that debate and argument will not achieve the necessary results. Pro-life groups have tried this avenue for years, and it is clear that they have failed. Whilst debate and argument have their place, what people really need is to be confronted with the grim and gruesome reality of abortion."
Life League is led by James Dowson.
Controversy
The group regularly sends explicit images of aborted foetuses discovered in British hospital refuse, to pro-choicePro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....
organisations, hospitals and individuals, such as newspaper columnists and bloggers, whom they believe oppose their position. A spokesperson for Marie Stopes UK
Marie Stopes
Marie Carmichael Stopes was a British author, palaeobotanist, campaigner for women's rights and pioneer in the field of birth control...
states that aborted foetuses have not been disposed of in such a manner for over 20 years, and alleges that the "images come from American websites, and some look as if they have been tampered with." In 2005, Life League activist Veronica Connolly was prosecuted for sending offensive images to a pharmacy distributing the morning-after pill. In January 2007 Connolly lost an appeal to the High Court
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice is, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, one of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
.
In 2005, the group provoked controversy after publishing the address and telephone number of Woldingham School
Woldingham School
Woldingham School is an all-girls, independent, Roman Catholic, boarding and day school in Woldingham, Surrey, England.-History:The school was founded as the Convent of the Sacred Heart in 1842 in Berrymead, London by the Society of the Sacred Heart...
, a Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
, whose headmistress they accuse of "child abuse" and of teaching pupils "types of contraception they can use to facilitate recreational sex". The school responded that, "What we teach falls entirely within the national curriculum and the way in which we teach the use of contraception is in the context of a committed relationship. Every Catholic school in the country will be doing what we are doing", and expressed concern that the publication of the school's details had endangered its pupils.
Life League's tactics have been described by the police as "akin to those of animal rights
Animal rights
Animal rights, also known as animal liberation, is the idea that the most basic interests of non-human animals should be afforded the same consideration as the similar interests of human beings...
extremists" and the group's activities have been investigated by the National Extremism Tactical Coordination Unit.
In 2006, the group characterised ethical guideline proposals by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
The Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists is a professional association based in the UK. Its members, including people with and without medical degrees, work in the field of obstetrics and gynaecology, that is, pregnancy, childbirth, and female sexual and reproductive health...
and the Nuffield Council on Bioethics
Nuffield Council on Bioethics
The Nuffield Council on Bioethics is a UK-based independent charitable body, which examines and reports on ethical issues raised by new advances in biological and medical research...
that severely premature babies likely to suffer from severe disabilities not necessarily be revived as "calls for severely disabled babies to be killed at birth" and as "baby euthanasia".
In 2007, the group started expanding their campaign overseas by spamming their newsletter to people in other countries. The people receiving this spam did not ask to be subscribed, and the group ignores repeated unsubscribe requests.
In 2008, Searchlight Magazine reported that Midas Consultancy, a fundraising and management training company run by Dowson, had signed a three-year consultancy contract with the British National Party
British National Party
The British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
External links
News