I remember how it was -- JR
‘Did Not Align With Our Mission’: Catholic University Fires Professor Who Brought in ‘Abortion Doula’
Catholic University confirmed to The Daily Signal that it has terminated the contract of the professor who invited a self-declared “abortion doula” to speak to students about coaching women through abortions and “pregnant men” through a “seahorse birth.”
Catholic University President Peter Kilpatrick announced to students on Jan. 30 that the university “terminated our contract with the professor who invited the speaker” after obtaining “clear evidence that the content of the class did not align with our mission and identity.”
“We first heard of the incident on Wednesday and began to gather information from the students and the professor,” Kilpatrick explained. “We had been told that one student had a recording of the class, and had plans to send it to the media, but the recording was not shared with the university administration.”
“We received one media inquiry Thursday, and one on Friday, asking for comment,” he continued. “While we were unable to confirm what exactly was said in the class, we did determine that the speaker’s views on life issues and on the anthropology of the human person were not consistent with our mission and identity as a faithful Catholic university, and that she should not be allowed to address the class again.”
Kilpatrick emphasized that Catholic University is strongly committed to promoting “the full truth of the human person and to protecting human life from conception to natural death.”
“In our rigorous pursuit of truth and justice, we engage at times with arguments or ideologies contrary to reason or to the Gospel,” he said. “But we do so fully confident in the clarity given by the combined lights of reason and faith, and we commit to never advocate for sin or to give moral equivalence to error. As witnessed by the life and virtue of St. Thomas Aquinas, whose feast we just celebrated as a community, such engagement with opposing ideas helps us both to grow in our command of truth and to respond to error with empathy, compassion, and mercy.”
“Here at Catholic University, we have the unique opportunity and common blessing to pursue truth, to grow in faith, and to exercise charity,” he added. “Our studies aim at producing wisdom, which includes excellence in living and sharing the truth with others. May our common study help us to understand life, to love goodness, and to promote and protect the dignity of the human person.”
The Daily Signal first reported the story of the “abortion doula” last week after a Catholic University nursing student detailed the abortion lecture. The student noted that the guest speaker said she also practices Reiki, a controversial Japanese method of spiritual healing and self-improvement.
“It was really unsettling,” nursing student Felipe Avila, 20, told The Daily Signal in a phone interview Friday. “The fundamental point is to understand human development from conception to natural death, right? And they brought in someone who counsels women to terminate life.”
Psychology lecturer Melissa Goldberg (who did not respond to requests for comment) invited the doula, Rachel Carbonneau, to address her class, titled Psychology 379: Lifespan Development.
The term doula usually refers to a professional who provides physical and emotional support to a woman before, during, and shortly after childbirth. Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider, defines an abortion doula as someone who “provides physical and emotional support to a patient during their abortion process.”
Carbonneau identified herself to the class as an “abortion doula,” according to the audio recording obtained by The Daily Signal. The founder and CEO of the LGBTQ-aligned doula company Family Ways also was an English lecturer at Catholic University from 2005 to 2008, her LinkedIn profile says.
Avila, the nursing student, said he first recognized the doula’s misalignment with the Catholic school’s values when Carbonneau began “using terms like birthing persons [and] pregnant person.” The lecturer was “very strategic in avoiding the word ‘woman,’” Avila said.
One of Avila’s classmates repeatedly asked Carbonneau how abortion ties into her work as a doula, which prompted the lecturer to share her pro-abortion stance openly.
“This is a space I feel comfortable navigating,” the doula said in response to questions.
Carbonneau also described what she called “seahorse birth.”
“We work with trans clients,” Carbonneau told students, according to the audio. “I have some men who have given birth; it’s amazing, we call it seahorse birth. It’s lovely, especially when it’s a water birth; it’s fantastic.”
Female seahorses still produce eggs and male seahorses fertilize them, but male seahorses incubate the young in a special pouch, from which the young emerge. This does not mean male seahorses become female, but they do appear to “give birth,” in a sense, so pro-transgender activists claim that when a “transgender man” gives birth, that is similar to a male seahorse doing so.
She insisted: “It’s not my business as a doula or a human being to pass judgment on how anybody else chooses to live their life.”
When discussing the stigma of “pregnant men,” Carbonneau urged students to “normalize” the discussion of women who identify as men giving birth.
“I think just normalizing it, right? Using the gender-neutral language, talking about pregnant men as pregnant people, pregnant women, pregnant men, pregnant humans,” she told the class.
Carbonneau acknowledged the tension between her support for abortion and the Catholic position on the issue, saying she herself had studied at the university.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that abortion is a “moral evil” and “gravely contrary to the moral law.”
The doula’s presentation Tuesday at Catholic University felt “unsettling,” Avila said. The student pointed out that “one of the many reasons that students like me and many of my peers made the decision to attend Catholic University is for that Catholic identity.”
“The university should not wait for there to be public pressure or a public outcry for there to be some kind of change … if they want to preserve the Catholic identity, then they need to take these things a lot more seriously,” Avila added.
Carbonneau said she uses Reiki, a Japanese spiritual healing technique condemned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops as incompatible with Christian teaching and scientific evidence. In 2009, the conference said that “it would be inappropriate for Catholic institutions … to promote or to provide support for Reiki therapy.”
Catholic University acknowledged the contradiction between Carbonneau’s support for abortion and the institution’s own values on Friday in a statement to The Daily Signal.
“The Catholic University of America was appalled to learn about reports regarding this guest speaker,” the university told The Daily Signal. “It does not reflect our mission and values as a university that is committed to upholding the dignity of life at all stages.”
“The guest speaker will not be speaking again to the class, and we are re-communicating the terms and expectations by which all outside speakers are vetted and invited,” the university, added, referring to Carbonneau.
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Missouri AG Orders School District to Cease Teaching Radical Gender Ideology Without Parents’ OK
Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey this week ordered a local school district to “cease and desist” teaching students about human sexuality, including gender ideology, without parental consent ahead of time.
In a letter Monday exclusively obtained by The Daily Signal, Bailey also ordered the Webster Groves School District to review all classroom materials for compliance with the law.
“Failing to notify parents in advance, failing to provide parents with the content of the instruction and materials, failing to clearly offer an opportunity to opt out, or failing to uphold a parent’s opt-out decision violates Missouri law and represents a direct assault upon parents’ rights,” Bailey, a Republican, wrote to John Simpson, superintendent of schools for the Webster Groves district.
Tenth-graders at Webster Groves High School, in the suburbs of St. Louis, were required to watch a slideshow on “oppression and privilege” that appeared to violate state law by using information from a Planned Parenthood affiliate that lists abortion clinics on its website, The Daily Signal reported in October.
The website of the Planned Parenthood affiliate, Teen Health Source, tells teens about “porn literacy” and “hookups” for casual sex. The organization defines abortion as “a safe medical procedure that ends a pregnancy” and suggests “trangender care” clinics that offer minors sterilizing hormone therapy and referrals for transgender surgery.
“My office has received reports that Webster Groves School District has provided materials related to human sexuality to students without notifying parents in advance, without providing a clear opportunity for parents to opt-out their child, and in some instances refusing to honor parents’ opt-out decisions,” Bailey says in his letter to Simpson.
The Missouri attorney general describes the slideshow presentation as discussing gender identity, sexual orientation, and abortion, all topics of “human sexuality.”
“Missouri law requires every school district and charter school to notify each student’s parent or guardian before providing any human sexuality materials or instruction to students,” Bailey writes to the Webster Groves superintendent, citing specific provisions of law. “Schools must provide to parents the content of any human sexuality materials or instruction and give parents the opportunity to opt their child out.”
Derek Duncan, communications director for the school district, confirmed Friday that Simpson had received Bailey’s letter.
“We did receive a notice from the AG’s office,” Duncan told The Daily Signal. “We will address and respond to the concerns raised in a cooperative and transparent manner.”
Parents have the “natural right” to direct their children’s upbringing and education, Bailey tells Simpson in the letter:
According to long-established Supreme Court precedent and Missouri state statute, schools must respect parents’ rights concerning human sexuality instruction and materials.
Specifically, this means that schools must notify parents in advance and provide them with information about the instructional content and materials that will be shared with their children in order to give each parent a clear opt-out opportunity.
Plainly stated, parents get to make decisions about the kind of human sexuality education their children will receive and schools are legally obligated to respect parents’ decisions.
Bailey ordered the district to “cease and desist” its use of human sexuality materials that have not been approved by parents in advance and to review all its class materials.
“Moreover, Webster Groves School District must immediately review all instructional resources, including reading lists, classroom and campus libraries, and any diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging materials that address issues of human sexuality, to ensure they comply with state law,” Bailey writes.
The Webster Groves school system had destroyed her family’s trust in school officials’ judgment, one mother told The Daily Signal in response Friday to the attorney general’s order.
“Their pattern of hiding gender ideology education from parents is well established and it’s simply a matter of time before parental rights are once again violated with an inappropriate survey, slideshow, or nudge towards activism,” the mother, who asked not to be identified, said.
She said she hopes Bailey’s letter will create a sense of urgency for Simpson as superintendent.
“He must draw a hard line with would-be activist staff—inform parents ahead of any human sexuality content or consequences will follow,” she said.
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School Choice Revolution Helps Homeschoolers, Too
A school choice revolution is sweeping the nation. Ten states ha ve passed universal education choice initiatives in the last two years. In addition to private school tuition, most of these new programs allow families to use their children’s taxpayer-funded education dollars to cover certain homeschool expenses.
The loudest and most influential pushback against school choice comes from Democratic politicians in the pocket of the teachers unions, who want to protect their monopoly over education. However, others have voiced the opposite concern that school choice could increase government regulation of private education.
The concern that "with government shekels come government shackles" is understandable, but misplaced. Shackles can be imposed even without subsidies, and states that have education choice policies tend to respect homeschooling autonomy more than those that don’t.
The government can already regulate private education without providing any funding. It has happened historically and still happens today. Oregon went as far as outlawing private education altogether in 1922 at the behest of the Ku Klux Klan, which sought to shut down Catholic schools. Thankfully, in 1925, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned that bigoted law, famously ruling that "the child is not the mere creature of the State."
Yet funding need not come with burdensome regulations. States without school choice policies—including Massachusetts, New York and Rhode Island—are among the worst states when it comes to burdensome regulations for homeschool families according to the Home School Legal Defense Association. Meanwhile, states like Iowa, Indiana and Oklahoma respect the autonomy of homeschool families and have universal or nearly universal education choice policies.
States with more school choice generally have more freedom to homeschool. In fact, last year, Ohio lawmakers passed both universal school choice and a reduction in homeschool regulation.
Education choice policies shift the locus of control over education from politicians and bureaucrats to families. When a government-run school fails to meet a child’s individual learning needs or is pushing values that run contrary to her family’s values, choice policies give that family an immediate escape hatch.
Empowering families with education choice also reduces the likelihood of harmful government regulation. As more families benefit from private and home education, the coalition willing to fight for the autonomy of private education will also grow.
The school choice coalition has been careful to support legislation that includes language preserving the autonomy of private education providers. For example, Arizona’s education savings account (ESA) statute states that a school "shall not be required to alter its creed, practices, admissions policy or curriculum" as a condition of accepting ESA students. Arizona enacted ESAs more than a decade ago and there have been no encroachments on the freedoms of private schools or homeschoolers.
Nearly every state constitution requires the state legislature to subsidize education to grant every child access to schooling. The question is only whether that subsidy will be in the form of government-run schools to which students are assigned, or directly to families who have the freedom to choose where and how their children are educated.
School choice is always voluntary. No school choice policy has ever forced a family or a school to participate. All families and schools can weigh the costs and benefits and make their own decisions.
Let’s not make the perfect the enemy of the good. As economist Thomas Sowell often reminded us, "there are no solutions, only tradeoffs." School choice isn’t a perfect solution, but it’s the most viable option we have today. America’s education system would be much better off if every family had access to the learning environments that worked best for their children.
https://www.heritage.org/education/commentary/school-choice-revolution-helps-homeschoolers-too
******************************************************My other blogs: Main ones below
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://pcwatch.blogspot.com (POLITICAL CORRECTNESS WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com/ (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com/ (TONGUE-TIED)
http://jonjayray.com/blogall.html More blogs
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