Local Waitrose supporting anti-abortion charity

[WaitroseSucks]

Waitrose gives shoppers tokens to drop into collecting points to support local charities. My local Waitrose is currently supporting a 'pregnancy counselling service'. I checked the 'charity's' website, which has all the usual guff about offering 'impartial advice', then checked their parent company and discovered that it's run by these guys.

AIBU to think Waitrose should check the credentials of 'charities' before collecting on their behalf? I imagine there would be outrage if Waitrose openly supported a charity like Abortion Rights, whose name does what it says on the tin.

Have tried to contact someone at my local store, but relevant person is 'away until Wednesday'. Meanwhile the collection points will continue to operate and unwary shoppers will be supporting a 'charity' that is concealing its true agenda.

Have name changed for this, but am MN regular.

"Christianity is opposed to abortion."

That is not true. There is nothing in the Bible about abortion. Many Christian groups are opposed to abortion, but it is not true that Christianity is opposed to abortion.

"We are not able to refer directly for termination."

That doesn't stop them handing out the phone number for the local abortion clinic.

Ah, right, I see. Some posters are confusing a group with a religious affiliation with an organisation that only employs people of a particular faith.
It is highly unlikely that Acorn only employs Christians. Yes, there are some exceptions where legally employers can discriminate on faith grounds but they are very rare.
Most 'Christian' organisations employ people of all faiths and none. It's why it's such a disservice to imply that people who work for groups with a faith-affiliation are personally biased in the advice or services that they offer.

Again no problem with a group having a religious affiliation.

I have a problem with them not being very clear and above board about their religious affiliation.

Again, it is just like somebody publishing research without being clear about who is providing the funding for the research.

Merry but they actually are quite clear about their religious affiliation. They say upfront when you book an appointment that they are Christian. Then as I've said above, when you go in to talk to them they ask you if you have any religious beliefs and if you say no then they just don't incorporate any religious strands of discussion into your counselling. If you are religious they may take a different tack but I can't comment on that as I went there to talk to them as someone who is agnostic and had no interest in talking about God.

That is great Tsukuru.

However, you have to dig around the Acorn website to get that information and, from what the OP said, it wasn't clear on the Waitrose green token box.

I would be quite happy if it said on the front of the website "We are a Christian organisation". Why wouldn't you make that information obvious?

No mention on their website about being 'a Christian organisation' and no mention on the collecting box either. Only description there is 'Acorn Pregnancy Counselling.'

My belief is that they are deliberately concealing their religious affiliations and relying on the fact that most people won't bother to look too deeply into their history or connections.

I was thinking about this. Perhaps they want to be inclusive so they don't state they are a christian charity as it might be off putting and stop people seeking help. They want to help women regardless of their stance ITMS?.

For all those who are hellbent of claiming their christian ethos is no barrier to impartiality, I will ask again...

If this organisation is looking for impartial volunteers to give impartial advice, WHY IS IT ONLY RECRUITING FROM THE CONGREGATIONS OF EVANGELICAL CHURCHES?

AND making all staff sign up to their religious pledge.

There is only one reason for that. They want to be sure that everyone coming to them is 100% committed to being anti-abortion.

At best that leads to unconsious bias in their counselling advice. At worst it leads to the sort of behaviour filmed by the Telegraph.

I'm totally shocked at all the posters twisting themselves into knots trying to justify how this is a totally acceptable and normal way to operate when it clearly has a lot of very bright red flags.

I wonder if there really is such a thing as impartial advice re abortion. This is really a question merely a thought. But it depends on what is meant by advice. If it's practical information giving. Well this help is available and that help is and if you decide to do this.

I wonder if there really is such a thing as impartial advice re abortion.

Why should there not be? I don't think people who are genuinely pro-choice would struggle to be impartial. It should be perfectly possible to offer information on all the options without steering someone in a particular direction. That's all that's needed really: someone who will say these are the options, these are the possible pros and cons (which should not include lies like 'abortion increases your risk of becoming a child abuser/getting breast cancer') and here's a list of service providers/sources of support if needed.

Anti-abortionists often like to call pro-choicers 'pro-abortion', as if they actively advocate FOR abortion when this isn't the case. In fact, perhaps being pro-choice should be a pre-requisite for anyone wishing to volunteer as a 'pregnancy counsellor'. If you're not actively pro-choice, by definition you are not impartial.

But surely if a woman has an abortion after attending a pro choice clinic then the organisation is pro abortion?

It's almost as if calling the organisation pro choice makes it more acceptable.

I used such a clinic when I was 16. It is what it is and semantics won't change that.

How about reading the thread Cheesecake?

Pro choice accept the woman's decision. They would never try to push someone into having an abortion if they said they didn't want one. They are pro the woman's choice.

It's nothing to do with semantics. I'm pro-choice and absolutely not pro-abortion. Can you honestly not see the difference? Are you suggesting there are agencies which actively advocate for abortion, ie. which present it as the only option for pregnant women and encourage/insist that women who visit them have abortions?

Cariads, two women attend the same clinic
One has an abortion, one keeps it
What does that make the clinic?
Pro abortion because one woman chose an abortion?
Or pro life because one didn't?
Or, here is a radical concept, pro choice, because they gave women choices

cheesecake No-one who is really pro-choice should be advocating that women be lied to by a group which is misrepresenting itself, by failing to declare its religious bias. I have NO problem with openly Christian groups advertising themselves and their services as such. BTW most of us would say PRO CHOICE and ANTI CHOICE to describe the two factions. "Pro-life" is too emotive, and inaccurate, and "pro-abortion" belittles the difficult choice women have to make in these circumstances.

Pro choice organisations don't pretend to be anything other than what they are, although if anyone can give an example of one that does hide its aims and purpose I am quite happy to say they suck too.

Waitrose is entitled to support any charity it wants. The problem comes

Oops.

The problem comes when an organisation created a public front to obscure its teal agenda.