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Jul 19 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
BREAKING: All reference to 'sexual and reproductive health & rights' & 'bodily autonomy' was deleted from a statement organised by the UK Govt. The statement was to show international solidarity, including on abortion rights at #FoRBMinisterial 5-6 July.
humanists.uk/2022/07/19/abo…
The statement was issued by the UK as part of an #ForbMinisterial #forbforall. A total of 23 countries signed the joint statement before it was amended. Malta, which has the strictest stance on abortion in Europe, has signed the statement after abortion rights were removed.
This is deeply concerning & we are asking the UK Government for an explanation, and a reversal of the decision to omit abortion rights for the statement. In Malta there is an absolute ban on abortion in all circumstances, including rape, incest, and fatal foetal abnormalities.
Our Chief Executive, @andrewcopson, said: 'The headline of #FoRBMinisterial was freedom of belief for everyone, everywhere & the common govt statement made it clear... If a woman is not free in the most intimate conscientious choice that could face her, then how is she free?'

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More from @Humanists_UK

Humanists UK Profile picture
Jul 19
Today we released this exposé, detailed here by @SerinaSandhu1 @theipaper. 'Commitments to abortion and sexual health rights have been quietly removed by the Government from an international pact on freedom of belief and gender equality.'

More below 👇

inews.co.uk/news/governmen…
'References to repealing discriminatory laws that threaten women’s “sexual and reproductive health and rights” and “bodily autonomy” have been removed from a statement published on the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) website.'
Reference to 'sexual and reproductive health & rights' & 'bodily autonomy' was deleted from a statement organised by the UK Govt. The statement was to show international solidarity, including on abortion rights at #FoRBMinisterial 5-6 July. humanists.uk/2022/07/19/abo…
Read 5 tweets
Humanists UK Profile picture
Jul 19
Everyone should able to get married in a way, & a place, that best suits them & represents their honestly held beliefs. For 1000s of humanists couples in England/Wales, that isn't a registry office! The time is now to legally recognise humanist marriages.
independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-n…
Unlike England & Wales, people in Scotland and Northern Ireland can have a legally recognise humanist wedding almost anywhere. Often this is a place meaningful to them – perhaps the place they met...
In England and Wales, though, the licensing around marriage relies of the wedding venue. During the pandemic the UK Govt extending legal recognition to outdoor civil marriages... but not to humanist marriages. This made no sense at the time and makes no sense now.
Read 5 tweets
Humanists UK Profile picture
Jul 19
No more delays, no more excuses. Now the Law Commission's report on marriage is finally out, the time for the UK Government to finally give legal recognition to humanist marriage in England and Wales is now.

Thousands of couples are waiting! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

humanists.uk/2022/07/19/hum…
Humanist weddings give non-religious couples the depth, flexibility, and authenticity they're looking for. They're legally recognised in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Jersey, Guernsey, and Ireland – but not in England & Wales!
Frustratingly, humanist couples must have a separate (often unwanted civil ceremony to be officially married. This is an absurd addition that need not be. Religious people don't have to do this. In 2020 the High Court ruled that this amounted to 'discrimination.'
Read 4 tweets
Humanists UK Profile picture
May 6
To celebrate our 126th anniversary we've launched a ‘History of Humanism in 100 Objects’. We're now in week 2 of the series & have just published articles on objects 11-20. Find out more about the people/ideas that have shaped our movement for 100+ yrs. 👇humanists.uk/2022/04/29/hum…
Object 11: The Ascent of Man, the BBC series presented by humanist philosopher Jacob Bronowski. It uniquely charts humankind's scientific and cultural evolution in a way which had never been done before. If you watch one thing this weekend, make it this.
heritage.humanists.uk/object/the-asc…
Object 12: Thomas Paine's 'The Age of Reason.' Paine was an English born American revolutionary who saw organised religion & monarchy as an oppressive tool to monopolise power. In his eloquent writings, he fought for the separation of church and state.
heritage.humanists.uk/object/the-age…
Read 12 tweets
Humanists UK Profile picture
May 5
Well said, @stephenfry.
Humanist don't claim to know anything for certain. Every statement of knowledge is provisional - we are open-minded and ready to be proved wrong by someone with better information or a better analysis.
Stephen is here referring to using rational criticism and looking to the evidence – something that as humanists, we prize very highly. Humanists think critically about where information comes, its source, and what its purpose might be.
Read 4 tweets
Humanists UK Profile picture
May 4
T.H. Huxley coined the term 'agnostic' to clarify that debating god’s existence was pointless. He's also famously known for saying he'd rather be descended from an ape than a bishop during a debate in 1860, a real 19th century mic drop moment, so to speak. heritage.humanists.uk/thomas-henry-h…
Huxley was born #OnThisDay in 1825 and was tireless & vociferous promoter of Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection, and became known as 'Darwin’s bulldog'. Most notably, he helped to create the new professional class of scientists in Britain... #HumanistHeritage
He promoted a modern approach to the purpose & rewards of science. He started a series of lectures for working men in 1855, established the scientific journal 'Nature' in 1869, & the 'Normal School of Science' in 1881, later becoming @imperialcollege #HumanistHeritage
Read 7 tweets

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