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Another UK teacher says she was fired for answering students' abortion questions
Another teacher in the United Kingdom says she was fired for telling students she is pro-life.
History teacher Anita Meston said she answered a student's question during an in-class discussion in which the students mentioned abortion.
She said she was fired the next day.
Meston is the second teacher in the United Kingdom who said she was fired for saying she is pro-life.
Anita Meston was a history teacher at Biddick Academy in Sunderland, and is now suing for discrimination after she said she was fired for saying she is pro-life. Meston has been a teacher for 28 years, and had been teaching at Biddick Academy since 2024.
The class was learning about the bombing of Dresden in World War II, and began discussing moral questions surrounding modern-day issues, such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
According to ADF International, which is representing Meston, a student then asked Meston if she was pro-abortion; she replied that she is pro-life, because she is a Christian and knows women who have regretted their abortions.
The student said she knew women who didn't regret their abortions, to which Meston responded, "Fair enough." The conversation was then redirected back to the history lesson.
The next day, Meston was called into a meeting with the headmaster. Meston was told a complaint had been made, and that her contract was being terminated because she had been “sharing personal opinions on political issues with pupils." The headmaster further said there was “real concern” that she would continue to “cause harm or distress to pupils."
Meston is now suing for discrimination. In a statement, she said:
I am profoundly shocked by Biddick Academy’s decision to dismiss me for my faith-based pro-life beliefs and other mainstream personal and political views. I do not believe it is a teacher’s role to impose beliefs unrelated to the lesson in the classroom. I merely acknowledged my students’ questions and provided truthful answers before redirecting them back to the lesson at hand.
If our national education system continues to claim to foster inclusion and tolerance, this must include tolerance of perspectives with which others disagree. With the support of Alliance Defending Freedom, I am now taking legal action against Biddick Academy to ensure nobody else faces discrimination for expressing pro-life beliefs.
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. What happened to me is nothing short of censorship, and this precedent cannot be allowed to stand.
Meston is the second teacher who said she was fired for being pro-life in the United Kingdom (UK).
Sarah Morse reached a settlement last month after she was fired from her job as a substitute teacher at Arbroath High School in Scotland, and her class was discussing life in the United States. The subject of abortion was mentioned, and Morse was asked her opinion.
“I am a faithful Roman Catholic and I am against it," she told students, and when asked about abortion after rape, added that he preborn child should “not be punished but understood that people would disagree with her."
More was fired the same day. She sued the Angus Council for discrimination, and a settlement has since been reached.
“At no time did I attempt to persuade any student to adopt my position. I taught them that it is possible to have hard conversations with respect and that disagreement is a natural part of a free society," she said. “To be ‘cancelled’ and lose my livelihood because of my religious identity is a terrifying precedent for the teaching profession in Scotland. I will not teach anywhere in this country ever again. It’s been an absolute nightmare.”
Pro-life speech is increasingly under attack in the UK, and this is just another example.
Pro-lifers continue to fight back to ensure they are allowed to exist freely in the public without fear of persecution for expressing their beliefs.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
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·Another UK teacher says she was fired for answering students' abortion questions
Another teacher in the United Kingdom says she was fired for telling students she is pro-life.
History teacher Anita Meston said she answered a student's question during an in-class discussion in which the students mentioned abortion.
She said she was fired the next day.
Meston is the second teacher in the United Kingdom who said she was fired for saying she is pro-life.
Anita Meston was a history teacher at Biddick Academy in Sunderland, and is now suing for discrimination after she said she was fired for saying she is pro-life. Meston has been a teacher for 28 years, and had been teaching at Biddick Academy since 2024.
The class was learning about the bombing of Dresden in World War II, and began discussing moral questions surrounding modern-day issues, such as the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
According to ADF International, which is representing Meston, a student then asked Meston if she was pro-abortion; she replied that she is pro-life, because she is a Christian and knows women who have regretted their abortions.
The student said she knew women who didn't regret their abortions, to which Meston responded, "Fair enough." The conversation was then redirected back to the history lesson.
The next day, Meston was called into a meeting with the headmaster. Meston was told a complaint had been made, and that her contract was being terminated because she had been “sharing personal opinions on political issues with pupils." The headmaster further said there was “real concern” that she would continue to “cause harm or distress to pupils."
Meston is now suing for discrimination. In a statement, she said:
I am profoundly shocked by Biddick Academy’s decision to dismiss me for my faith-based pro-life beliefs and other mainstream personal and political views. I do not believe it is a teacher’s role to impose beliefs unrelated to the lesson in the classroom. I merely acknowledged my students’ questions and provided truthful answers before redirecting them back to the lesson at hand.
If our national education system continues to claim to foster inclusion and tolerance, this must include tolerance of perspectives with which others disagree. With the support of Alliance Defending Freedom, I am now taking legal action against Biddick Academy to ensure nobody else faces discrimination for expressing pro-life beliefs.
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. What happened to me is nothing short of censorship, and this precedent cannot be allowed to stand.
Meston is the second teacher who said she was fired for being pro-life in the United Kingdom (UK).
Sarah Morse reached a settlement last month after she was fired from her job as a substitute teacher at Arbroath High School in Scotland, and her class was discussing life in the United States. The subject of abortion was mentioned, and Morse was asked her opinion.
“I am a faithful Roman Catholic and I am against it," she told students, and when asked about abortion after rape, added that he preborn child should “not be punished but understood that people would disagree with her."
More was fired the same day. She sued the Angus Council for discrimination, and a settlement has since been reached.
“At no time did I attempt to persuade any student to adopt my position. I taught them that it is possible to have hard conversations with respect and that disagreement is a natural part of a free society," she said. “To be ‘cancelled’ and lose my livelihood because of my religious identity is a terrifying precedent for the teaching profession in Scotland. I will not teach anywhere in this country ever again. It’s been an absolute nightmare.”
Pro-life speech is increasingly under attack in the UK, and this is just another example.
Pro-lifers continue to fight back to ensure they are allowed to exist freely in the public without fear of persecution for expressing their beliefs.
Live Action News is pro-life news and commentary from a pro-life perspective.
Our work is possible because of our donors. Please consider giving to further our work of changing hearts and minds on issues of life and human dignity.
Contact editor@liveaction.org for questions, corrections, or if you are seeking permission to reprint any Live Action News content.
Guest Articles: To submit a guest article to Live Action News, email editor@liveaction.org with an attached Word document of 800-1000 words. Please also attach any photos relevant to your submission if applicable. If your submission is accepted for publication, you will be notified within three weeks. Guest articles are not compensated (see our Open License Agreement). Thank you for your interest in Live Action News!
Nancy Flanders
·Issues
Nancy Flanders
·Abortion Pill
Bridget Sielicki
·International
Cassy Cooke
·International
Cassy Cooke
·International
Nancy Flanders
·International
Cassy Cooke
·Abortion Pill
Cassy Cooke
·Analysis
Cassy Cooke
·Politics
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·