A New Hampshire public school teacher was terminated for allegedly driving a student to an abortion clinic while on sick leave. According to a report by the New Hampshire Department of Education, the instructor called in sick due to food poisoning.
The instructor later informed the school that they were not ill and “went with a student to a medical appointment,” according to the report, which redacts the identities of those involved.
The identity of those involved is unknown, but the investigation stated that the teacher and student had been discussing the medical appointment for 2.5 weeks.
The teacher allegedly assisted the student in determining “how far along they were.” The report mentioned that the teacher sought the student “a safe facility” and volunteered to accompany them. The school terminated the teacher but did not specify the nature of the student’s procedure. However, state lawmakers confirmed that it was an abortion.
Republican state representative Erica Layon told the newspaper, “I am horrified to hear that a teacher in our New Hampshire schools felt the right way to help a pregnant student who felt unsupported in her pregnancy was to research abortion facilities and call out sick to take a student to an abortion rather than to help her speak with her parents and find support from her family.”
On Monday, supporters denounced the teacher’s termination during a demonstration in New Hampshire honoring the anniversary of the Dobbs decision, which repealed Roe V. Wade abortion rules.
During a packed reproductive rights meeting in Concord, numerous attendees supported the instructor, claiming she was put in a difficult situation. Maryrose Wainaina, a protester, stated, “I believe the teacher was simply doing what they felt, as a human, and putting their job at jeopardy. As a student, you approach your teachers because you trust them.”
Counter-protesters also spoke out during a pro-choice event in Concord.
Margaret Svedsen stated, “The teacher should not be involved in transporting the children to the clinics. Medical procedures? You can’t give an aspirin to a child at school, but you can take them to get an abortion, which may have complications, without informing their parents? No.”
According to the Boston Globe, the instructor has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Education and state officials for creating a “misleading narrative” about the incident, despite knowing the youngster was not a minor.