A student midwife who was suspended from her hospital placement for sharing her pro-life views is seeking to ensure that no-one else is punished for their beliefs.
Sara Spencer, a student at Edinburgh Napier University, was suspended from her training with NHS Fife during a fitness to practise investigation, after affirming midwives’ legal right to refuse to carry out abortions.
Although the university found “no case to answer”, it has continued to brand her pro-life beliefs as “inappropriate”. The mother of three is now asking NHS Fife to acknowledge the right to conscientious objection and freedom of expression, and pledge not to discriminate against pro-lifers in the future.
‘Concerning’
Responding to a Facebook post asking if midwives can refrain from taking part in abortions, Spencer had explained: “Given that my moral beliefs include a foetus is a child and it is wrong to kill children, there is no circumstance in which I would not object to abortion.”
The university claimed such statements brought the profession into “disrepute”, branding her conduct “detrimental to the safety, dignity, and wellbeing” of others.
Reflecting on the incident, the 30-year-old said: “As a student, I expected to be able to freely engage in discussion among my peers about the grounds for my conscientious objection, and to respectfully debate matters of medical law, ethics, and the philosophy of midwifery care – matters which lie at the heart of our profession.
“I was shocked by NHS Fife’s response to my expression of legally protected beliefs. It is concerning that an NHS health board would be reluctant to welcome a student who holds certain beliefs regarding the significance of unborn human life.”
‘Alarm bells’
Lois McLatchie Miller, a senior legal communications officer for religious liberty group Alliance Defending Freedom UK – which is supporting the case – added: “It should be considered entirely natural and expected that a midwife, focused on delivering life into the world, may have concerns about abortion.
“It’s for this reason that our laws protect freedom of conscience for all medical professionals, who should never be compelled to act in a way they consider harmful.”
She added: “Sara’s experience should sound an alarm bell about the need to reaffirm freedom of conscience across all public health boards.”
A spokesman for Edinburgh Napier University did not comment on the case, but stated: “All midwifery students are expected to abide by the code of practice set out by the Nursing and Midwifery Council.”
Success
In 2020, midwifery student Julia Rynkiewicz won an apology and settlement from the University of Nottingham, after she was banned from her hospital placement over her connection to the Students for Life society.
She was subject to a four-month fitness to practise investigation, which forced her to delay her studies and left her without access to student finance, despite the allegations being eventually dismissed.
Rynkiewicz reflected: “What happened to me risks creating a fear among students to discuss their values and beliefs, but university should be the place where you are invited to do just that.”
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