Abortion

In the primary school, teaching about abortion will not be delivered as part of the planned PSHE curriculum but could come up as a response to a child’s question. Whether to respond to a question in front of the whole class or to speak to the individual will depend on the age of the pupil asking the questions and the school's sex and relationship education policy.

The purpose of sex and relationship education is in preparing students "for the responsibilities and challenges of adult life" and abortion is an aspect of this. For example, more than 50% of teenage pregnancies ended in abortion in 2005. It is important, therefore, that as one aspect of a secondary sex and relationship education programme young people are aware of the choices that would be available in the event of an unplanned pregnancy, with abortion discussed as one of these choices.

The programme should:

• provide factual information about abortion and the law as it relates to abortion
• provide information about what someone should do if she suspected she were pregnant
• develop an understanding of abortion and the reasons why someone would chose to have an abortion
• provide an opportunity for young people to explore the choices around unplanned pregnancy in a safe, nonjudgmental environment e.g. adoption, abortion or bringing-up the child
• develop communication skills to discuss sexual health issues, such as abortion with parents, carers and health professionals
• explore the differing religious, cultural and moral attitudes towards abortion

It is important that sex and relationship education policies and programmes recognise and respect that there are strongly held beliefs about abortion. Some of these beliefs are probably discussed in Religious Education (RE) and liaison with the RE department on this is essential.

When speaking about abortion in a classroom setting it is important to remember that there may be members of the class who have some personal experience of abortion. For example, a young person may have had an abortion herself or may know of a family member or friend who has had an abortion. Miscarriage is often called a spontaneous abortion. Therefore, it is important to point out the differences between the two and to make the point that many pregnancies end in miscarriages. 

See Education for Choice, Best practice toolkit: abortion education.