Abortion Northern Ireland: Protestant and Catholic churches hit back at Chris Heaton-Harris plans to teach 'value free' lessons on how to access abortions

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said on Tuesday that he was updating the requirements for relationship and sexuality education (RSE) in the curriculum.

The announcement was welcomed by the NSPCC, NI Humanists, the NI Human Rights Commission, People Before Profit, Alliance for Choice and Informing Choices NI.

However the move has been strongly opposed by most of the main churches across the community.

In 2019 then Secretary of State Brandon Lewis oversaw the relaxation of abortion legislation in NI, which at the time only allowed abortion if the health of the mother was seriously at risk.

In 2020 the assembly passed an indicative motion against the liberalisation of the law, which passed 46 votes to 40.

Mr Heaton Harris said 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.

His actions are based on the recommendations for NI from an United Nations committee based in New York, the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

A statement from the Northern Ireland Office said: “The Regulations, in practice, will result in educating adolescents on issues such as how to prevent a pregnancy, the legal right to an abortion in Northern Ireland, and how relevant services may be accessed.“This should be done in a factual way that does not advocate, nor oppose, a particular view on the moral and ethical considerations of abortion or contraception.”

TRANSFERORS COUNCIL

However The Transferor Representatives’ Council, which represents the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian Church and Methodist Church in education issues in Northern Ireland, objected to the lack of time allowed for consultation. The regulations will require the Department of Education to issue guidance on the content and delivery of the education to be provided by the start of next year.

Chairman Dr Andrew Brown said: “Laws and policies for Northern Ireland should be made in Northern Ireland by ministers who have been locally elected by its citizens – an electorate which includes parents, teachers, carers and guardians. The announcement’s timing, right in the middle of the exam season for schools and before the summer holiday, is questionable and greatly reduces the time available for any meaningful consultation with teachers and boards of governors.

“The value judgments made in the 2018 CEDAW Report that RSE is ‘underdeveloped or non-existent’ were unfair and unfounded, and run against the evidence reported by the Education and Training Inspectorate. "

PRESBYTERIAN

The Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Right Reverend Dr John Kirkpatrick, pointed out that the move would not be subject to any amendment or debate by Northern Ireland MPs or peers.

“It is deeply regrettable that the legislation laid today is almost impossible to amend or change in Parliament, and that neither the Secretary of State, nor his officials, found time to consult or engage in a meaningful way with any of the key stakeholders within education," he said.

Dr Kirkpatrick continued, “It is disappointing that the NIO has swallowed the findings of the CEDAW report as a whole without any discernment or sensitivity."

He added that Mr Heaton Harris is insisting upon the teaching of RSE "without a particular view on moral or ethical considerations" but. Surely he does not himself need to go back to school to realise that every approach to RSE will be shaped by a larger worldview, as there is no ‘neutral’ understanding of human identity and human sexuality."

"He is seeking to impose a particular worldview on the education of children in Northern Ireland. What has happened today, seriously undermines a school’s ability to link RSE to its agreed values and ethos, in line with current Department of Education guidelines.

CATHOLIC

The Catholic Bishop of Londonderry Donal McKeown said he was concerned that schools not offering the lessons could be "criminalised".

He said: "Schools want to offer pupils education, not just information."If anyone wants to find out about abortion you get something called Google and you type in abortion," he told the BBC.Bishop McKeown said there was a need for schools to help young people develop "lifelong skills for healthy relationships".But he added: "I am really concerned this seems to be a decision by the secretary of state that will impose a particular way of approaching the issue on all schools."[That will] perhaps end up having schools penalised and criminalised for not obeying the legislation."I don't think you need to impose a duty on schools, that come from a range of different backgrounds, an obligation to provide information as if abortion and that whole area is somehow or other a value-free thing."He told BBC Radio Foyle's The North West Today programme that Mr Heaton-Harris should have engaged "with all parties in Northern Ireland, not just with CEDAW coming from New York".He said the changes to the curriculum were borne from an "ideology that says: 'This is about my rights', and there is no question of morality involved".

FREE PRESBYTERIANThe Free Presbyterian Church also expressed deep concern at the announcement. Rev Gordon Dane the convenor of the church’s Government and Morals committee said: “Once again we are having our local beliefs and preferences overridden by the UN report from the ‘Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women’. This outside group which acts to a globalist and one-size-fits-all-agenda seeks to impose a liberal and immoral set of values on our province.”

He added: “Abortion is the killing of living human beings and for Secretary of State Heaton Harris to announce that abortion must be taught in schools in a way ‘that does not advocate, or oppose, a particular view on the moral and ethical considerations of abortion or contraception’ is frankly incredible."

A Northern Ireland Office spokesperson responded: "Regulations which amend the curriculum in Northern Ireland will mirror the approach in England with regard to education on contraception and access to abortion.

"This matter became law in 2019 and there is a clear statutory duty in section 9 of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation etc) Act 2019 in relation to sexual and reproductive health and rights.

"This is a specific and unique duty which arose from a vote in Parliament. The UK Government has only stepped in where necessary to ensure the implementation of the specific recommendations of the Report of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) are implemented in Northern Ireland. .

“The Secretary of State recognises that some parents may wish to make alternative arrangements for sex education. As such, the regulations also place a duty on the Department of Education to ensure that a pupil may be withdrawn from education on sexual and reproductive health and rights or elements of that education, at the request of a parent. This follows the approach taken in England and Scotland.

"Educating adolescents on these issues will be done in a factual way that does not advocate a particular view on the moral and ethical considerations of abortion or contraception.”