The bishops of Northern Ireland are speaking out in response to new sex education policies put into place, requiring schools to promote abortion access and pregnancy prevention.
Earlier this month, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris put Relationship and Sex Education (RSE) regulations into place which mirror those in England, even though Northern Ireland schools previously had been able to develop their own policies and curriculums on sex education. Heaton-Harris claimed that he had a legal duty to put these regulations in place, based on recommendations from a United Nations (UN) report.
Yet at the annual Irish Catholic Bishops Conference in Maynoth, the bishops strongly rejected the imposition, and didn’t hesitate to use harsh language.
“Having already imposed some of the most radical abortion laws in the world on the people of Northern Ireland, without their consent, the Secretary of State now seems determined to impose an ideologically biased view of abortion on all schools, irrespective of parental rights or school ethos,” the bishops’ statement read. “This is radical legislation the British Government doesn’t even impose on schools in Britain, where the right of parents to be involved in decisions about such ethical and pastoral issues is fully respected.”
They further said the rights of parents need to be respected, as well as the principles that people in Northern Ireland hold.
“It is not for a Government to impose one ideological approach on children, parents or on our schools, over others. This is why the right of parents to an education for their children that is an accordance with their ethical, religious and philosophical convictions, is an internationally recognised human right. It prevents Governments from the kind of over-reach in relation to the rights and freedom of parents that this legislation represents. We call on the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to respect the internationally recognised rights of parents, and the principles,” the bishops continued, concluding, “The Secretary of State, and the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, need to move away from their tendency to ideological colonisation in this area, and trust parents, teachers, young people and local politicians in Northern Ireland to balance the rights and responsibilities involved.”
