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A student is pictured in a file photo walking past a statue of the Mary at a Catholic school in Cushendall, Ireland. Results of a public consultation released Jan. 5, 2024, showed that almost three out of four respondents rejected a proposal by the British government to require schools in Northern Ireland, including Catholic schools, to teach students how to access an abortion.(OSV News photo/Cathal McNaughton, Reuters)

Northern Ireland parents strongly reject idea of teaching about access to abortion in schools

January 12, 2024
By Michael Kelly
OSV News
Filed Under: Feature, News, Respect Life, World News

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DUBLIN (OSV News) — Almost three out of four people who responded to a public consultation have rejected a proposal by the British government that would require schools in Northern Ireland, including Catholic schools, to teach students how to access an abortion.

In November, Irish bishops warned that the plan would “impose abortion ideology” on faith-based schools in the region.

Though Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom, it has been largely self-governing since a 1998 Good Friday peace agreement brought an end to 30 years of sectarian violence and created a Protestant-Catholic power-sharing government.

However, that government has been suspended since February 2022 over political disagreements and decisions are now made by British ministers.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has insisted that he will update the requirements for Relationship and Sexuality Education, or RSE, in the curriculum. Heaton-Harris claimed the regulations will make “age-appropriate, comprehensive and scientifically accurate education on sexual and reproductive health and rights, covering prevention of early pregnancy and access to abortion” a compulsory component of the curriculum for students.

The results of the consultation were published Jan. 5, and revealed a total of 13,461 responses.

The results show that 73 percent of respondents disagreed with the government’s RSE program. In total, 92 percent of respondents agreed that parents or advocates should always be informed about the specific nature and content of any RSE program. And 96 percent said parents and advocates should always have access to any school RSE policy or program for review.

In one of the first comments published in the report by the Department of Education, a parent/carer said, “I disagree that abortion options and prevention of early pregnancy should be explained to children.”

The person added, “This may encourage them to experiment with sex from a young age, removing their innocence, and show them that there is a ‘get out of jail free’ card if they were to fall pregnant. Abortion is the murder of a child and it should not be taught as an option.”

Director of the pro-life charity Precious Life, Bernadette Smyth, described the response to the consultation as “unprecedented.”

“This shows the strength of feeling from the people of Northern Ireland on this issue,” she told OSV News.

Smyth insisted that the British government “must end their complete disregard for democracy and devolution (to local politicians), and their total disrespect for the views of the people of Northern Ireland.”

“We demand Heaton-Harris and the government listen to the 73 percent majority in Northern Ireland, and remove this abortion-promoting RSE program from our schools,” she said.

In November, Bishop Donal McKeown of Derry warned that the “expectation that schools should become engaged in the delivery of an allegedly neutral curriculum which highlights access to abortion shows no understanding of the foundational principles of Catholic education.”

Read More Respect Life

Ireland’s abortion rates rise 62 percent over 5 years; Catholic advocates call it ‘a tragedy’

Judge blocks defunding of some, but not all, Planned Parenthood groups

Is NFP finally breaking into medical schools?

Nearly one in three conceptions in England and Wales end in abortion, government figures reveal

Planned Parenthood

Judge blocks, for now, Planned Parenthood defunding provision backed by bishops

Report: US abortions continue post-Dobbs rise in part due to telehealth

Copyright © 2024 OSV News

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