Amnesty suffers huge membership fall out over abortion issue

06 September 2007

GRASSROOTS campaigners have resigned from Amnesty International after the organisation adopted a pro-abortion stance.

Members from several branches in north Kent and south London have withdrawn from the global human rights pressure group after many years of tireless campaigning.

A vote by Amnesty's executive committee, composed of members from 52 countries, adopted a stance on campaigning for women's rights to have abortions in certain circumstances has caused uproar among grassroots campaigners.

The move was greeted by resignations of two high-profile bishops and criticism from the Vatican who called for Catholics to stop donating to the organisation.

Now Amnesty faces rebellion from community groups who while only representing 7,000 of the organisation's 250,000 members, are regarded as the most stalwart supporters.

Chairman of the Bromley and Orpington group, Neville White said that there had been resignations in the last week.

He said: "At the local level it is affecting us quite severely. It has not only had an effect on campaigning but also on morale. A number of longstanding members have resigned including our auditor and another one of our oldest members - who both resigned on conscience grounds.

"There was insufficient consultation for an issue of this importance. Amnesty's position for the past several decades has been neutrality. To go from that to this decision is quite a large step for an issue that is based on conscience.

"The subtext is that a number of Amnesty groups that started in the '60s like our one, grew up from non-denominational churches. We came from a Quaker group, while the Beckenham and West Wickham group came from a Catholic church."

There are also believed to have been a number of resignations from the Beckenham and West Wickham group and the secretary of the Sevenoaks group is believed to have left the organisation.

A spokesman for Amnesty International central office said: "We are not trying to alienate anyone. We are a secular organisation and we have to adopt the policies that the movement agrees upon, irrespective of different political or religious affiliations.

"We are a democratic organisation and this issue has been debated for two years."

martin.croucher@archant.co.uk