The Government has included being “anti-abortion” among single issue ideologies that can lead to terrorism.
As part of ‘Prevent’ training, an aspect of the Government’s counter-terrorism strategy aimed at people working in education, health, local authorities, police and criminal justice, the Government lists having “anti-abortion” views as among single issue ideologies that can lead to terrorism.
While the training focuses on “Islamist and extreme right-wing ideologies” it also provides examples of what it categorises as “single-issue ideologies”.
The training explains “Narratives are likely to come from those who seek to change a specific policy or practice, as opposed to replacing the whole economic, political or social system. Examples include, animal rights, anti-abortion or anti-fascism. Single-issue narratives can be politically agnostic, meaning they may be neither right nor left aligned”.
The same training goes on to explain that “The aim of Prevent is to stop people from becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism”.
“The Prevent duty is designed to help ensure that people who are susceptible to radicalisation are as supported as they would be under safeguarding processes. It means that specified authorities such as education, health, local authorities, police and criminal justice agencies (prisons, probation and youth justice) have a duty to help stop people being radicalised into terrorism”.
The training also defines extremism as the “vocal or active opposition to fundamental British values of democracy; the rule of law; individual liberty; mutual respect and tolerance of those with different faiths and beliefs”.
A Home Office spokesperson said: “Prevent deals with all forms of radicalisation and it is important that this is effectively communicated within our training products so that frontline professionals are equipped to take the appropriate action.
“All training products are regularly updated to ensure they are reflecting the latest threat picture.”
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “The Government are explicit that they believe that being pro-life is a potential ideology leading to terrorism”.
“There has not been a single instance of anti-abortion terrorism in British history. It is a grave insult and sign of deep intolerance that the Government, via Prevent training, implies that being pro-life is potentially the beginning of the road towards terrorism”.
“It seems as though we are permitted to be pro-life insofar as we oppose abortion but do not do anything to reduce the number of abortions. Once we become ‘intolerant’ of the practice enough to push for a change in the law, pro-lifers risk being branded as extremists”.
“This somewhat unclear training seems to envision that someone might first adopt an ideology or ‘set of beliefs or narratives for the purpose of supporting a particular worldview’, such as being ‘anti-abortion’, which becomes ‘extremist’ when it grows ‘intolerant of generally accepted values of society’. Finally, this can culminate in terrorism insofar as it involves ‘violent action’. This whole process is the process of radicalisation and Prevent exists to ‘tackle the ideological causes of terrorism'”.
“The highly nebulous definition of extremism in this training needs to be removed and rethought”.
