A history teacher has been sacked after telling her students that she is pro-life.
Anita Meston, who taught history at Biddick Academy in Sunderland, was sacked after telling students she is pro-life when asked for her personal opinion on abortion during a lesson.
When asked by the students why she held this position, Anita said she was pro-life partly because she knew women who had had abortions and regretted their decisions and because she is a Christian.
One student responded by saying that she knew people who had had abortions without regretting their decision. Anita said this was “fair enough”.
The school principal summoned Anita to a meeting shortly afterwards and reprimanded her for sharing her personal views with students. She was subsequently told that her contract would be terminated.
The principal claimed that there was “real concern” about how Anita had acted, and that there were worries she would “cause harm or distress to pupils”, according to reports of documents revealed to The Telegraph.
Anita has clarified that she does not believe that teachers should impose beliefs on their students, and that she was not doing this; rather, she said, she simply “acknowledged my students’ questions and provided truthful answers before redirecting them back to the lesson at hand”.
“In a free and just society, teachers should not be fired for honestly expressing their deeply held beliefs in response to questions in the classroom”, Anita stated.
“If our national education system continues to claim to foster inclusion and tolerance, this must include tolerance of perspectives with which others disagree”, she said.
Anita also said she was “profoundly shocked” about her dismissal.
Teacher now taking legal action against her employer for discrimination against her pro-life beliefs
Now, with support from free-speech legal advocacy organisation Alliance Defending Freedom, Anita is taking legal action against her former employer for discrimination.
Jeremiah Igunnubole, barrister and Legal Counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom in London, said “It is unacceptable that expressing pro-life and other views in response to a question can result in a person being terminated. The law protects all employees from discriminatory treatment”.
“If teachers are dismissed solely for views that students or staff disagree with, the next generation will learn that it is acceptable to censor opinions they dislike”, he added.
Spokesperson for Right To Life UK, Catherine Robinson, said “It is utterly disgraceful that Anita Meston was dismissed from her job apparently due to her pro-life views, when she was simply acknowledging their questions”.
“No one should be discriminated against for holding any beliefs, let alone pro-life beliefs, and it is entirely understandable that legal action is now being pursued to attempt to rectify this unfortunate situation”.
“We wish Anita the best and hope she can resolve this issue soon”.
