Anita Meston is a secondary school teacher in the United Kingdom who teaches French and humanities. (Alliance Defending Freedom)
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A Christian teacher in the United Kingdom says she was fired after telling a student she was pro-life during a classroom discussion, describing her shock at losing her job over remarks she says were simply an honest response to a student’s question.
Anita Meston, a secondary school teacher who taught French and humanities at Biddick Academy, told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview she was covering a history lesson about the bombing of Dresden when students began asking about her views on Israel and abortion.
Meston said she initially asked students to compare the bombing of Dresden with the conflict between Israel and Gaza in an effort to encourage classroom discussion.
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A Christian teacher in the U.K. said she was fired after answering a question by a student about her beliefs on abortion. (iStock)
As the discussion progressed, a student asked whether she supported abortion.
“And I said, ‘No, I’m pro-life,'” Meston recalled. “And she said, ‘Well, what does that mean?’”
Meston said she explained that her Christian beliefs would prevent her from participating in an abortion if she worked in a medical setting.
“And I said, also, I know women who’ve had abortions who’ve regretted them,” Meston said. “And she then responded with, ‘Well I know women who’ve had abortions who haven’t regretted them,’ and I said, ‘Well that’s fair enough.’ And then we moved back to the lesson, whatever was left of it.”
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Anita Meston said a student asked her questions about her pro-life beliefs, which led to her firing. (Daniel de la Hoz/Getty Images)
But Meston claims the exchange cost her her job.
“I was quite shocked actually,” she told Fox News Digital, describing a subsequent meeting with the school’s head teacher.
Meston said the head teacher accused her of sharing personal opinions in class before informing her that the school could no longer employ her.
“She said, ‘Thank you very much for your service, but we can’t keep you on at the school,'” Meston recalled.
The teacher said the experience left her feeling humiliated despite believing she had done nothing wrong.
“Well, it’s shock, isn’t it?” Meston said. “And then, also feeling … humiliated in a way. Although I knew that I hadn’t really done anything wrong, you still get that sense that, you know, you’re being kicked out of your job and having to tell other teachers why and the first teacher I spoke to actually said to me, ‘Well, a lot of us have similar views to you, but we’re not keen. … We’re frightened to express them.’”
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A spokesperson for The North East Learning Trust said staff have a clear code of conduct to follow in response to an inquiry about Meston’s firing. (iStock)
Jeremiah Igunnubole, Meston’s attorney, told Fox News Digital he believes the dismissal was connected to her expression of Christian beliefs and violated protections afforded under British law.
“Well, teachers should teach children how to think, not what to think,” Igunnubole said.
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He argued that Meston had not attempted to impose her views on students but had merely responded to a question before returning to the lesson.
“She did not seek to indoctrinate. She did not seek to impose her beliefs on the students. She simply answered a question,” he said.
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Igunnubole said Meston’s case is proceeding before the Newcastle Employment Tribunal, where a preliminary hearing is scheduled to address the basic arguments and establish a timetable for future proceedings.
A spokesperson for The North East Learning Trust, which Biddick Academy is a part of, told Fox News Digital in a statement, “While we are not able to comment on this individual case, we have a clear staff code of conduct, which is consistently applied to protect the safety and wellbeing of our children at all times.”
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Fox News Digital reached out to the Newcastle Employment Tribunal for comment.