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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To Be Annoyed At School

65 replies

hairychesty · 08/10/2011 23:11

When my daughter attended secondary school she was taught about abortion. Dont get me wrong.....I think all young people should be taught about the pro's and con's of such a delicate subject.

The fact that it was in R.E. lessons was a bit confusing to me and to be honest I thought they could have chosen science or something.

My real problem with the school is that they only told the students about how terminations were done and then showed them very graphic footage of terminations taking place. Not once in any lesson were they told why some females had to have terminations and that every termination does not mean that a fully formed baby is being terminated.

I just think with such a delicate subject they should know the pro's and cons.

OP posts:
slavetofilofax · 08/10/2011 23:48

See, I think anyone who is considering abortion should know what is really happening to their body.

Same with any other medical procedure, but even more so when it comes to one that you have to make a choice about.

If a woman is so sure that abortion is the right thing for them to do, then she should be able to be confident in that descision even when she knows what actually happens. If a woman would change her mind about an abortion because she knows what actually happens, then she can't be that sure of her descision to terminate a potential child in the first place.

scarlettsmummy2 · 08/10/2011 23:52

When I was at school in the mid nineties we had a lady come in from a pro life group to give a talk on abortion and show pictures etc. This was at a Quaker school and only the girls attended.

By the end of it everyone had those little gold feet tie pins and was terrified of the consequences of sex outside marriage. I think we would have been fifteen.

slavetofilofax · 08/10/2011 23:53

X posted. I asked that because I would disagree with my dc being shown a film about abortion without any discussion surrounding it.

But if it was discussed properly, then I wouldn't have a problem with my dc seeing footage of abortion at all.

You say that not once were reasons for termination discussed, and I would have thought that that would be quite a basic part of the lesson. If it didn't happen at all, then that's wrong, but I don't think I always get full details of what happened in lessons from my children, so there may be a chance that you are mistaken about that.

Original poster
hairychesty · 08/10/2011 23:53

slaveto......yes i understand that! I wondered why you would doubt that it did happen because it was two years ago

OP posts:
slavetofilofax · 08/10/2011 23:55

Just because memory is not always 100% accurate Smile

PigletJohn · 08/10/2011 23:57

"she was taught about abortion"

From what you say, she wasn't taught about abortion. She was shown a propaganda film.

There are a number of them around. HT's usually claim, when they get complaints, that they had no idea it was not a thoughtful, sensitive and well-balanced educational film.

Complain anyway and see what they say. Ask what information the kids were previously given about contraception. Ask if the PTA has viewed and approved it. Ask if the Governers have. Ask if the HT has.

Religionists are particularly prone to brainwashing children.

Original poster
hairychesty · 08/10/2011 23:58

Dd did bring a form to be signed for sex ed but i did not even consider the idea that she would be shown such footage.

The reason i never complained to school was because i had a teenage dd who was having a 'panic attack' at the thought of her mum complaining to her teachers. Yes...I realise that might not be reason enough for some but i remember being a teen in school and would have felt exactly the same.

Still... it still bothers me and i wish i could turn the clock back!

OP posts:
slavetofilofax · 09/10/2011 00:00

Why would the PTA watch and approve a film to be shown in school? Or the governors? Confused

That's the teacher's job.

Original poster
hairychesty · 09/10/2011 00:00

PigletJohn....do you really think i could complain so long after?

OP posts:
festi · 09/10/2011 00:00

in the 80@s at school I was shown a very graphic illustration of abortion, It was real and is what really happens. It didnt disturb me but did upset me.

I do not see the problem.

Original poster
hairychesty · 09/10/2011 00:02

I also felt it was a propoganda film. R.E. lessons have no right showing such a thing.

OP posts:
festi · 09/10/2011 00:03

it isnt brainwashing is it. It is showing a true illustration of something quite horrific.

beatenbyayellowskull · 09/10/2011 00:04

hairychesty would it have been different if it was shown in a PSHCEE lesson?

PigletJohn · 09/10/2011 00:04

Oh, two years ago? Bit late now. I suppose you could ask what was the name of the film, and do they still show it. If you are in touch with parents of youngsters still at the school they might like to know what's been going on. Some of the religionist propaganda films are quite well known and the subject of much discussion.

festi · 09/10/2011 00:05

also I recal watching an equally horrific and disturbing true representation of the holocaust in history.

Original poster
hairychesty · 09/10/2011 00:05

If they were being truthful then shouldnt they have told students about the reasons for and against termination?

OP posts:
slavetofilofax · 09/10/2011 00:06

How can you judge if it was propaganda if you didn't see it yourself?

Even if it was, real footage is real footage, it can't be altered. Yes it can be edited to put accross one particular point while ignoring another complately valid point, but abortion is abortion whichever way you look at it. The mechanics of it are still the same.

PigletJohn · 09/10/2011 00:09

I'm not sure about that, slave. It might have been one of those that show near-full-term babies being hacked out, covered in blood, sometimes crying as they are dumped in a bucket. There are some films that are calculated to give the most horrific and biased impression.

Strangely, some of the people who are most anti-abortion are also anti-contraception.

Original poster
hairychesty · 09/10/2011 00:09

festi....doesn't make it right just because its on film.

If it had been shown in one of the sciences then I could have had a bit more understanding of why it was shown. To do it in religious lessons, and only one sided screams 'brainwashing' to me.

OP posts:
beatenbyayellowskull · 09/10/2011 00:10

Fair enough hairychesty.

Original poster
hairychesty · 09/10/2011 00:12

Piglet....that is exactly what was shown. That was why my daughter was so disturbed by it. Although i have a feeling slave...is going to say i dont remember it well or that dd doesn't.

OP posts:
Original poster
hairychesty · 09/10/2011 00:14

In fact I ended up saying to dd when she told me that most terminations are smaller than a 'slug'. Not the nicest description, i know but i was upset.

OP posts:
festi · 09/10/2011 00:15

doesnt make what right, not sure I understand your point hairy?

tabulahrasa · 09/10/2011 00:16

Was it RE though? Or was it RMPS or RME? Because they're not all the same thing.

slavetofilofax · 09/10/2011 00:18

Piglet, would they really show something quite as graphic as that to teenage girls? I'm shocked that they might have done!

If it was as extreme as that, then of course it would be wrong to show it in any school. I'm an adult and I would find that disturbing!

But if it wasn't that extreme, I wouldn't have a problem with it as long as the right discussion took place. The emphasis should be on the discussion, not the showing of the film.

I would also say that RE is a more appropriate lesson than science to show a film like this, because RE covers a lot of moral issues and provides time for ethical discussions and various beliefs. Science would be more likely to just be about the mechanics I would have thought.