Over the weekend, the Observer reported that the Tampon Tax Fund (which is raised through the VAT on menstrual care products) includes a large grant (£250,000) to anti-abortion group Life.
Life’s website clearly states that their vision is to make abortion ‘a thing of the past.’ It is therefore clear that the counselling service they provide – which is now in receipt of Government funding – is not non-directive. Numerous reports have highlighted misinformation promoted by Life, including the false claim that abortion is linked to breast cancer, as well as the bias and poor quality of their counselling and information services.
Access to abortion is a human right, and abortion itself a safe and legal procedure. Organisations that disseminate misinformation and provide unethical services in order to further their own anti-abortion agenda should not receive government funding ahead of charities providing high quality, essential services for women and girls.
You can call on the government to explain and review their decision on the BPAS website
For more information, see the following reports:
- Education for Choice‘s 2014 report highlighting misinformation and poor practice in independent pregnancy counselling centres (including those run by Life)
- Education for Choice and the British Humanist Association‘s 2012 reports on anti-choice educational resources (including those produced by Life)