Classrooms are not the place for abortion propaganda

Carla Lockhart MP • June 27, 2023

Upper Bann DUP MP Carla Lockhart has said the NIO must make clear that teachers with a moral objection to abortion will not face discrimination or career penalty for refusing to implement the Governments proposals in relation to the RSE curriculum.

Carla Lockhart said:

 

“I despair that the NIO seem determined to make our classrooms a place where the ending of human life is promoted and normalised.

 

We should be teaching our children and young people about hope, about the value of life, about every life reaching its potential. Instead, we now have a diktat from the Secretary of State that imposes abortion propaganda on your young people. It is a sad indictment on the priorities of some.

 

In recent weeks many head teachers and teachers have contacted me expressing their concern that their right to religious belief, and their position on the right to life, will now be used to discriminate against them in the workplace. Teaching staff must have the right to opt-out, and it is important by exercising that right, that they face no penalty either directly, or indirectly by hindering career progression.

 

I have raised these matters with the Secretary of State. We must have clarity on these issues and safeguarding of important rights for those who believe abortion to be wrong.”

Share

By Carla Lockhart MP February 12, 2026
DUP Agriculture spokesperson, Carla Lockhart MP, has raised concerns about the lack of financial support for young people in Northern Ireland who are serious about a future in farming.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 12, 2026
Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart is urging the government to listen to the electorate and reconsider its controversial approach to British farming.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 12, 2026
Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart pledged her support for the Farm Safety Foundation’s Yellow Wellies Mind Your Head campaign, during this week’s parliamentary drop-in event at Westminster.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 11, 2026
Upper Bann MP, Carla Lockhart, has praised the talent, creativity and confidence shown by local pupils at the Young Enterprise Big Market Trade Fair, held at Rushmere Shopping Centre . Schools from Banbridge , Lurgan and Portadown were well represented at the event, which showcased a wide range of student-led business ideas and products. 
By Carla Lockhart MP February 11, 2026
Upper Bann MP, Carla Lockhart , has welcomed the reopening of Captain Cook’s, describing the revamped Banbridge eatery as a real boost for the local area.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 10, 2026
Upper Bann MP, Carla Lockhart, has strongly condemned the decision to approve participation in a UK wide puberty blockers clinical trial involving children, describing the move as a serious failure of safeguarding and child protection.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 9, 2026
Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has secured a high-level meeting with senior management from Royal Mail in London to address ongoing and unacceptable postal delays in Banbridge and across the wider Upper Bann constituency, with particular concern around delays to vital correspondence such as hospital appointment letters.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 5, 2026
Confirmation that the High Court has ordered an urgent judicial review into inheritance tax reforms has been welcomed by the DUP’s Agriculture spokesperson, Carla Lockhart MP.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 5, 2026
The DUP’s Westminster Agriculture spokesperson, Carla Lockhart MP, has accused Shared Environment Services (SES) of paralysing Northern Ireland’s planning system.
By Carla Lockhart MP February 4, 2026
Upper Bann MP Carla Lockhart has warned that shocking new figures on cancer treatment in Northern Ireland expose a health service struggling to deliver timely care and has called for urgent action including free travel support for patients and ring-fenced funding to address chronic delays.