Scientology is facing renewed criticism, due to an extensive exposé in the Florida newspaper the St. Petersburg Times which contains revealing accounts of women involved in the organization who say they were forced to have abortions. Multiple different female members of the Scientology group called the Sea Org said they were pressured to have abortions, and were threatened with separation from their families, hard labor, interrogations, and shunning , if they did not comply. L. Ron Hubbard , the founder of Scientology, stated his appreciation for families within the Sea Org. Scientology's subsequent leader, David Miscavige, issued an order that children were to be banned in the Sea Org. The mandate by Miscavige asserted that children hampered the productivity of the Scientology order. Scientology representative, Tommy Davis denied all of the assertions made by the women. "There is no church policy to convince anyone to have an abortion, and the church has never engaged in such activity. The decision to have a child or terminate a pregnancy is a personal decision made by a couple. That applies to all Scientologists. If any current or former Sea Org member ever 'pressured' someone to have an abortion, they did so independently, and that action was not approved, endorsed or advocated by the church," stated Davis to the St. Petersburg Times. Another woman is suing the Scientology organization in United States federal court , and stated she was threatened with severe repercussions if she did not have an abortion. Claire Headley, 35, a member of the Sea Org when she was in Scientology, told the St. Petersburg Times, "The policy was if a staff member became pregnant, that they were to have an abortion." In Nevada, Republican party candidate for the United States Senate, Sharron Angle ,  was the focus of criticism for her support of a Scientology-associated program. Angle's opponent, incumbent Senator and Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid , took out a 30-second negative political ad critical of Angle for supporting "a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners". The prison program Angle had supported was based on techniques developed by Scientology founder, L. Ron Hubbard. Angle had previously been the subject of a similar ad in the Republican primary, generated by the campaign of her opponent Sue Lowden . Sharron Angle is pro-life, and The New York Times columnist Ramesh Ponnuru noted her position against abortion helped her win the Republican primary. "Angle would not have been able to unite populist conservatives and beat the party establishment’s candidate had she been pro-choice," noted Ponnuru.
Scientology is facing renewed criticism, due to an in the Florida newspaper the which contains revealing accounts of women involved in the organization who say they were forced to have abortions. Multiple different female members of the Scientology group called the said they were pressured to have abortions, and were threatened with separation from their families, hard labor, interrogations, and , if they did not comply. , the founder of Scientology, stated his appreciation for families within the Sea Org. Scientology's subsequent leader, David Miscavige, issued an order that children were to be banned in the Sea Org. The mandate by Miscavige asserted that children hampered the productivity of the Scientology order. Scientology representative, denied all of the assertions made by the women. "There is no church policy to convince anyone to have an abortion, and the church has never engaged in such activity. The decision to have a child or terminate a pregnancy is a personal decision made by a couple. That applies to all Scientologists. If any current or former Sea Org member ever 'pressured' someone to have an abortion, they did so independently, and that action was not approved, endorsed or advocated by the church," stated Davis to the St. Petersburg Times. Another woman is suing the Scientology organization in , and stated she was threatened with severe repercussions if she did not have an abortion. Claire Headley, 35, a member of the Sea Org when she was in Scientology, told the St. Petersburg Times, "The policy was if a staff member became pregnant, that they were to have an abortion." In Nevada, candidate for the , , was the focus of criticism for her support of a Scientology-associated program. Angle's opponent, incumbent Senator and , took out a 30-second negative political ad critical of Angle for supporting "a Scientology plan to give massages to prisoners". The prison program Angle had supported was based on techniques developed by Scientology founder, . Angle had previously been the subject of a similar ad in the Republican primary, generated by the campaign of her opponent . Sharron Angle is , and columnist noted her position against abortion helped her win the Republican primary. "Angle would not have been able to unite populist conservatives and beat the party establishment’s candidate had she been pro-choice," noted Ponnuru.
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extensive exposé
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Sea Org
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shunning
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Tommy Davis
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United States federal court
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Republican party
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United States Senate, Sharron Angle
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Senate Majority Leader Democrat Harry Reid
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L. Ron Hubbard.
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Sue Lowden
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pro-life, and The New York Times columnist Ramesh Ponnuru
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