As a founder member of parent advocacy group Albertan Parents for Unbiased Public Inclusive Learning (APUPIL Facebook group), I often have people approach me with their concerns. Multiple families contacted me about the Pregnancy Care Centre (PCC) once again being invited to teach sex-education in a St. Albert public school. Their concerns mirror those of many and can be broadly described as follows.
There are three main issues with having the Pregnancy Care Centre coming into public schools to teach children about sex education and health.
The first is that we live in a multi-cultural society and the PCC is an evangelical Christian religious ministry – "Guiding Principles. Directed by Christ, we trust Him to accomplish His work through us. In this spiritual battle, we must be armed; covered in prayer, ready, faithful, and skillful." Parents aren't even being informed as to the nature of the organization being brought in. Perhaps the issue is more quickly understood if we juxtapose a Muslim organization spreading an Islamic perspective, or an atheist group spreading atheist values, to quickly realize how inappropriate the very nature of the organization itself is, and how very quickly the issue would be over if it were so.
The reality is an increasing number of people are uncomfortable with religious organizations and would prefer them kept away from our children in our public schools, especially on matters relating to sex, gender, science and mental well-being.
Secondly, the PCC has some religiously informed perspectives that are inconsistent with the curriculum and the realities of our society. Essentially the PCC is anti-contraception, anti-sex before marriage and is anti gay sex. Its leadership describes the failure to be a virgin on one's wedding night as to be "unpure." These are not healthy or accurate perspectives to be around the sex-education of our youth.
The third and final reason is a non-negotiable deal-breaker (as if the first two reasons weren't enough). The PCC is an affiliate member of CAPPS – Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services, To become an affiliate member one has to agree to the Core Documents. The Statements of Faith & Principles. The PCC and CAPPS are by their own hand anti-gay, anti gay-marriage, anti-contraception, anti-sex before marriage, anti women's right to choose and anti-transgender.
The PCC is an unacceptable organization to be in a public school for this purpose and the St. Albert Public Board and leadership needs to make the same principled stand that Edmonton Public and others have done by removing them from the vendors list.
Luke Fevin, St. Albert
Albertan Parents for Unbiased Public Inclusive Learning (Facebook group).
