Ann Furedi | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ann Marie Bradley (1960-10-31)31 October 1960 (age 65) Wolverhampton,Staffordshire, England |
| Other names | Ann Burton |
| Alma mater | University of Sussex,University of Kent |
| Occupations | journalist and abortion rights activist |
| Known for | Chief executive of theBritish Pregnancy Advisory Service |
| Spouse | |
Ann Marie Furedi (néeBradley; born 31 October 1960) is an English former journalist and abortion rights activist. She is the former chief executive of theBritish Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS), the UK's largest independentabortion provider.
Furedi studied a master degree in philosophy at theUniversity of Sussex, and has been awarded a DSc by theUniversity of Kent.[1]
Prior to her career inpro-choice organisations, Furedi was a journalist, specialising in healthcare features for women's magazines, includingCosmopolitan andCompany, sometimes writing under her maiden name, Bradley. She is also known as Ann Burton. In the early 1980s, she worked for theNational Council for Civil Liberties as its Gay Rights Officer.[2]
Furedi was a contributor to theLM Magazine until it folded in 2000 after being found to have libelled ITN journalists.[3] She has also contributed toSpiked Online, a British online magazine, that identifies itself aslibertarianhumanist. For that magazine, she has written in support ofsex-selective abortion[4] and about "what Republicans get wrong about abortion."[5] She has served as a board member of the American research charityIBIS Reproductive Health.[6]
Furedi has worked in pro-choice organisations for more than 20 years, mainly in policy and communications. Before joining BPAS, as its chief executive in June 2003, Furedi was Director of Policy and Communications for the UK regulator of infertility treatment and embryo research, theHuman Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).[7]
Furedi ran the press office of the UKFamily Planning Association before leading Birth Control Trust, a charity that advocated the need for research and development in methods of contraception and abortion. She is regarded as a leadingpro-choice advocate and spokesperson, often appearing in the media representing this perspective.[8]
In 2012, Furedi's organisation BPAS and the advocacy groupCatholics for Choice convened a meeting of abortion providers, advocates and academics, leading to the Declaration of Prochoice Principles being issued.[9]
In 2014, whenNHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde appealed to the Supreme Court after judges in Scotland said Roman Catholic midwives had a right to conscientious objection to take any part in abortion procedures, Furedi said that BPAS supported "the right of healthcare professionals to conscientious objection not least because women deserve better than being treated with contempt by those who think they are sinners. But ultimately a balance needs to be struck between that exercise of conscience and women's access to legal services."[10][11]
Furedi's bookThe Moral Case for Abortion: A Defence of Reproductive Choice outlines ethical arguments in support of abortion rights.[9] She has also spoken at events including the Battle of Ideas[6][12][13] and is a judge at Debating Matters events.[1]
Furedi is also the vice-chairman of the Governing Body atMidKent College,[14] where she chaired the Audit Committee.[15] She retired from paid work in 2020.[15]
In 1982, she marriedFrank Furedi, the founder and then leader of the BritishRevolutionary Communist Party (RCP).[16]
