Fighting back

Do we sit back and watch the erosion of society … or do we take action?

The majority of respondents to a Government consultation opposed plans to teach children as young as five about homosexuality and transgenderism, the Christian Institute reported on 4th March. More than 11,000 people responded to the consultation, with 58 per cent saying the proposed content for Relationships Education in primary schools was not “age-appropriate”.

Even more, 64 per cent, said the same about Relationships and Sex Education in secondary schools. Despite the large number of consultation responses raising objections, the Education Secretary Damian Hinds pushed ahead with the Government’s controversial plans.

Withdrawal from the teaching of LGBT relationships was a particular concern for many respondents, with three in fve opposing the plans to weaken parents’ rights to withdraw their children from the lessons. Respondents also raised concerns about the objectivity of resources being recommended for primary schools, but the plans are set to go ahead with only minor alterations. Parents, grandparents and teachers made up around half of the responses.

The Christian Institute’s Deputy Director for Public Afairs Simon Calvert said: “We are greatly encouraged by the high number of responses and the level of opposition to the plans … It’s appalling how the Government has sought to downplay these contributions and in fact the only changes they made after the consultation have made these plans worse … People should be ready to mobilise in the months ahead.”

The new guidelines are set to come into force from September 2020.

It is appalling how sex and relationships education in UK schools have in effect become tools for indoctrinating and grooming children.

Parent power

In early March the Barnabas Fund successfully campaigned against a Statutory Instrument on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) that could take away the choice of parents. Barnabas Fund reported that the Statutory Instrument:

• Will rule that when a child reaches the age of 15, the parents no longer have the right to exclude their child from sex education; the child themselves will make the decision.
• Will rule that primary school children (aged 4 to 11) must be taught a positive view of non-traditional “families”, relationships and sexual identities as part of their Relationships Education curriculum. Parents have no right to exclude children from Relationships Education, only from Sex Education.

So putting these subjects under Relationships Education deprives the parents of their rights to choose whether their child is taught these subjects.

Statutory Instruments normally become law 40 days after being “laid before parliament” unless either the House of Commons or House of Lords passes a motion annulling it. A Statutory Instrument has the full force of law, but is not normally subjected to the same scrutiny as an Act of Parliament and may not even be debated by MPs in parliament.

Barnabas Fund stated: “We oppose the steady erosion of parents’ freedom to determine how to teach their children about morals, religious beliefs, sexuality and gender in conformity with their religious and philosophical convictions”.

This freedom is guaranteed by the 1st Protocol of the European Convention of Human Rights; “In the exercise of any functions which it assumes in relation to education and to teaching, the State shall respect the right of parents to ensure such education and teaching in conformity with their own religious and philosophical convictions.” (The European Convention of Human Rights)

On 12 March Barnabas Fund reported the good news that having been deluged by 430 objections, the vast majority apparently from Barnabas Fund supporters, the Lords Committee decided to recommend that the SI on Relationships and Sex Education (RSE) be debated on the Floor of the House, with the possibility that the Lords will now annul it. The SI had been quietly making its way through the UK Parliament and was set to be passed into law in just 24 days. Barnabas Fund has stated that “we can still write to our Constituency MPs to raise our concerns about the erosion of parents’ rights to protect and nurture their children in accordance with their own beliefs.”

The Government’s attempts to sneak this insidious law in without accountability or the opportunity to challenge it were halted in its tracks because many Christians acted to protest against it. This demonstrates that Christians can be Salt and Light (Matthew 5:13 to 16) in the UK if they choose to act and not be indiferent. And more than ever UK Christians ought to be active and to be Salt and Light as the darkness in our nation steadily increases.

Making a stand

In Birmingham, a programme to teach primary school children about LGBT issues at Parkfield Community School was suspended after 600 students were withdrawn by parents angry that their children were being “brainwashed” by lessons that were undermining their parental rights and “aggressively promoting homosexuality.” The vast majority of the parents are Muslims.

Assistant Head Andrew Moffat, who is in a gay civil partnership, was accused by parents of attempting to promote his own personal views on LGBT issues to children. Children between the ages of four and eleven were read books such as Mommy, Mama, and Me as well as King & King, stories that promote same-sex relationships. This proves that if parents are willing to stay involved, stand up for their parental rights and take action to protect their children from being groomed and indoctrinated with the wrong values then parental autonomy and children can be efectively protected.

Saving babies

In a further attack on our freedoms, Richmond Council voted in early March to impose a so-called Public Space Protection Order (PSPO – which in fact is more like an order to protect the Abortion industry.) around the BPAS abortion centre on Rosslyn Road, Twickenham. The council unanimously ratifed an earlier decision to implement the PSPO and so ban the peaceful pro-life prayer vigil primarily run by the Good Counsel Network.

Richmond is the second council after Ealing to use a PSPO to prevent people praying and ofering help to women outside an abortion clinic. As at Ealing, concerns have been raised about the provisions of the order being too broad and too vague to render it proportionate. The PSPO makes it a criminal offence to make any offer of help to women on Rosslyn Road, and bans “directed” prayer and counselling. Many mothers have received assistance from pro-lifers outside the abortion clinic to help them keep their unborn babies instead of aborting them. This is peaceful, lifesaving work that Richmond Council has now banned. Alina Dulgheriu is appealing against Ealing Council’s decision, regarding its PSPO that bans peaceful pro-life vigils around the Marie Stopes abortion clinic. The Court of Appeal has agreed to consider her appeal.

Alina is a mother who was provided support to keep her baby by a pro-life vigil outside an abortion clinic. In order to enable other women with crisis pregnancies to obtain such crucial lifesaving support she launched legal action against the bufer zone in April 2018. In July, although the High Court acknowledged that her rights to freedom of expression, freedom of religion and freedom of assembly had been infringed, it still upheld Ealing Council’s PSPO. Please pray that Alina’s appeal will be completely successful and encourage others to also pray for this. If her appeal is successful it will help save the lives of many unborn babies who will otherwise be killed by abortion.

Uncomfortable truth …

The Centre For Bio-Ethical Reform UK (CBR UK) exists to educate society on the humanity of the unborn child and the injustice of abortion, using images of aborted children and other evidence; and to support those who have been hurt by it. Their mission is: To make abortion unthinkable. By publicly displaying images of aborted children CBR UK is simply exposing the grisly truth of what abortion actually does to unborn children.

Just one example of the lifesaving impact of pro-lifers being left free to help vulnerable women outside abortion clinics: A baby was saved in Brighton after CBR UK volunteers were able to speak with a woman who was considering an abortion. Pauline and Kathryn were outside the Wistons abortion clinic. Pauline tells the story: “A taxi stopped and a young woman got out alone. I thought she might stop but she hurried past, not looking at me. However she came out less than half an hour later. She stopped and listened then. She hadn’t taken the pill. (ie. The Morning-After Pill.) She took some leafets, but when I showed her the little feet pin she started to cry. We talked together for a while. We asked her what help she needed to keep the baby, said that whatever it was we could provide it (God has never let us down!). We decided to go to a cafe where we could talk … She was afraid; her husband was afraid… She was a Catholic who believed in God. She wanted to have an early abortion because she thought it wasn’t really a baby yet.”

Kathryn added: “After our conversation with her she was adamant she would keep the baby no matter what anybody said.”

In addition to the times when babies are clearly saved from death by CBR UK’s work there are also many occasions when CBR UK’s workers and volunteers are able to change people’s minds on abortion, thereby helping to ensure that they will never have an abortion nor encourage others to have one. Such people also usually go on to discourage others from having abortions or supporting such practices. All this work also saves babies’ lives.

To support the lifesaving work of CBR UK, please make a cheque out to: CBR UK and send it to: CBR UK, 23 New Broadway, Tarring Road, Worthing,West Sussex BN11 4HP.