‘Undermining Families’: Teacher Fired After Taking Student to Get an Abortion
An investigation has found that a public school teacher in New Hampshire was fired after requesting sick leave, during which the teacher actually took a student to get an abortion.
Documents released by the New Hampshire Department of Education revealed that the teacher had been “counseling” the student — both names were redacted — for several weeks about an unexpected pregnancy. The situation was originally referenced by Education Commissioner Frank Edelbut in an April op-ed, where he referenced numerous concerns expressed by teachers and parents alike. In the op-ed, he asked how the department should react “when, allegedly, an educator lies by calling in sick so they can take a student – without parental knowledge – to get an abortion. Should we turn a blind eye?”
Boston Globe reporter Steven Porter eyed the accusation with skepticism. “[Edelbut] alluded also to an eye-catching allegation about abortion, suggesting that an educator had been accused of calling in sick to take a student to terminate a pregnancy without the student’s parents knowing,” Porter said. “Was that accusation found to be true? He did not say.”
In May, documents were released confirming that the abortion scenario did, in fact, happen.
“[T]hey had been conversing with the student for 2.5 weeks regarding the medical appointment,” the investigation said. “[The teacher] told the student to determine how far along they were (and assisted them) so the student knew what options they’d have available.” Additionally, the teacher selected the facility for the student, and drove her there. (Read more from “‘Undermining Families’: Teacher Fired After Taking Student to Get an Abortion” HERE)
Photo credit: Flickr
