Society for the Protection of Unborn Children
United Kingdom anti-abortion organization
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is an anti-abortion organisation in the United Kingdom which also opposes assisted suicide and abortifacient birth control.[4]
| Formation | January 1967[1] |
|---|---|
| Founder | Phyllis Bowman[2][3] |
| Type | Anti-abortion lobby group |
| Headquarters | London, United Kingdom |
| Website | www |
History
SPUC was formed in 1966 amid parliamentary debates over the Abortion Act, which came into law one year later. Although it is not officially faith-based, SPUC and the more conservative anti-abortion charity Life mainly draw upon Catholic and evangelical Protestant support.[5]
Between 2020 and 2022 the group received over £72,000 from US donors who used an agency to disguise their identity.[6][better source needed]
in 2022 the BBC removed SPUC resources from its website after a "backlash from health experts". The Guardian referred to SPUC's "history of promoting misinformation in schools".[7] The Guardian also reported[when?] that SPUC promotes unproven and potentially "dangerous" abortion reversal on it's website.
In 2019 SPUC were criticised[by whom?] for using "cynical" Toy Story themes marketing to promote anti-abortion ideology to children.[8]
Resignation of Bowman
SPUC founder Phyllis Bowman resigned from her post in July 1999, with nearly half of the 12-person national executive resigning in sympathy. This was believed to be because of a rift with SPUC national director John Smeaton over the organisation's strategies.[2]
The Pro-Life All-Party Parliamentary Group, headed by the then-Shadow Home Secretary, Ann Widdecombe, met with SPUC to discuss concerns that following Bowman's resignation, the organisation may divert resources from the political arena and seek greater realignment with the Catholic Church, alienating some Protestant, Muslim and atheist supporters of SPUC.[2][3]
Tony Nicklinson right-to-die case
SPUC opposed locked-in syndrome sufferer Tony Nicklinson's legal battle for a right to assisted death.[9][10]
Marriage
SPUC has opposed same-sex marriage.[11][12]
On 18 June 2019, the Nottingham Post reported that the organisation did a leaflet drop in Sneinton, Nottingham alongside a letter for parents asking for their child to be withdrawn from Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) lessons.[13] The Nottingham Post reported that this backfired as some residents in the area condemned the action and, in an interview on BBC Radio Nottingham, the leader of Nottingham City Council confirmed that no letters had been handed in at any school.[14]
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