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Well-known Abortion Provider in Britain Lands in Trouble for Offering Employees Free Terminations

by Savitha C Muppala on Aug 10 2010 12:56 PM

 Well-known Abortion Provider in Britain Lands in Trouble for Offering Employees Free Terminations
A unique job perk lands a leading abortion provider in Britain into trouble, and guess what the perk was - free abortions for employees, partner and children.
Marie Stopes International offers employees, their partners and children free abortions as part of its benefits package.

The company, which receives an estimated 30 million pound a year from the NHS to carry out abortions, told staff: "For your dedication, passion and hard work you will be rewarded with our support and benefits - both financial and non-financial."

The company website said: "Team members, their partners and dependants will be able to access MSI's core services... without charge."

It lists services such as sterilisation, testing for HIV and sexual infections, ultrasound, family planning and abortion.

The furore follows controversy over the first television advertisement for abortion, which was put together by the Marie Stopes organisation and screened in May on Channel 4.

"Never famous for its sensitivity, Marie Stopes recently shared controversial TV advertising time with a selection of beer brands, rival supermarkets, hair products and well-known confectionary bars," the Daily Mail quoted Josephine Quintavalle, of the Pro-Life Alliance, as saying.

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"So it is not surprising this crass organisation equates free abortions with gym membership as appropriate consumer perks for employees and their families," she said.

Anthony Ozimic, of the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children, said: Marie Stopes offer of free abortions for staff is sick. Abortion is the killing of unborn children, not a job perk.

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"Marie Stopes macabre offer, and its evasion of advertising restrictions, shows it is a cynical abortion business, not the supportive sexual health service it claims to be," he added.

However, a worker at Marie Stopes considers it to be a positive thing.

She said: "What you get as a benefit of working here is access to medical services, not just abortions. It's because we are a medical services provider that people who work here get access to those services.

"It's not odd. It's there if you have got a need. It's a positive thing."

Tracey McNeill, of Marie Stopes International, said: "As with the majority of health service employers, we subsidise a full range of health services for our staff including well-men and well-women health checks, contraception, cervical cancer screening, unplanned pregnancy advice and abortion.

"As a responsible employer, Marie Stopes International promotes a full range of sexual health information and contraception to our employees," she said.

Source-ANI


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