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Amnesty Pay the Price of Endorsing Abortion
But beneath the busy exterior of grassroots cam-paigning, there are rumblings of discontent. A group of 25 activists in London are grappling with resignations and dissent in the aftermath of Amnesty International's decision last month to change its stance on abortion.
Many within Amnesty's 250,000-strong UK membership have added their weight to what critics say is a rebellion by activists over the change of policy and the way in which it was achieved.
The divisions have been intensified by the fact that many of Amnesty's local groups, which account for 7,000 members, have their origins in churches and religious groups bitterly opposed to abortion. Amnesty raises £250,000 a year through its UK branches.
Neville White, chairman of the Bromley and Orpington group, said his group, which raises about £5,000 a year for Amnesty, has lost a Catholic member who was responsible for auditing its accounts while other groups in the area have suffered further resignations and the threat of the withdrawal of their meeting rooms by churches.
It has been said that branches in Birmingham, Liverpool, Leeds and Newcastle have been hit by departures of long-standing members.
Neville White said: "I think the leadership of Amnesty have failed to grasp how divisive this policy has been and instead taken the view that they must not buckle to the views of local campaigners."
The LifeLeague says: We will be launching an all out major campaign against Amnesty. We are also calling upon all pro-life people to boycott Amnesty. |
