Unplanned hit theatres in Canada in July and has stirred up intense debate with its look at a Planned Parenthood clinic director in Texas who becomes an anti-abortion speaker.Michael Kubeisy/The Canadian Press
A scheduled screening of the controversial American anti-abortion film Unplanned at Saint John High School in New Brunswick is expected to draw a peaceful protest this evening.
A Facebook group for the protest says “a public school is not the place for such dishonest, dangerous, political, and religious propaganda.”
Saint John Coun. David Hickey and the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada have also voiced their opposition to the screening in the school’s theatre, arguing it’s inappropriate to show such a film in a public institution funded by the government.
The Anglophone South School District (ASD-S) says the screening was not organized by the school but by the Saint John chapter of New Brunswick Right to Life, which booked the venue and sold the event tickets.
Unplanned hit theatres in Canada in July and has stirred up intense debate with its look at a Planned Parenthood clinic director in Texas who becomes an anti-abortion speaker.
The school district says in a statement that the screening doesn’t conflict with its policies regarding the community use of its schools.
The policies, which are recognized and promoted by ASD-S and the Department of Education and Early Childhood Development, state: “If the use of school premises/facilities does not interfere with the normal operations of the school and pupil safety, our facilities are made available to meet community needs.”