After a video comparing abortion to the Holocaust was shown to high school students, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools is adjusting how presentations are allowed in from outside organizations.
The video, The Case Against Abortion, Personhood, was shown as part of a presentation last month to Grade 10 students at Notre Dame High School. Red Deer and Area Pro Life made the presentation.
About a minute into the three minute video, it compares abortion to the systematic extermination of disabled and mentally ill by the Nazis. The video also invokes the specter of the Auschwitz death camp.
“With more careful screening practices, our administrators will ensure the contents will be the most suitable for our students. We apologize for any issues this particular presentation may have caused for our students,” said Guy Pelletier, Red Deer Catholic Regional Schools’ Board of Trustees.
In a release, the Catholic board said it has asked the group to make adjustments to their presentation to ensure it is more appropriate for students. As well more steps have been implemented to screen outside agencies’ presentations to ensure they will be more thoroughly reviewed by school staff and administration.
“It has come to our attention that the presentation by Red Deer & Area Pro-Life contained controversial resources that did not achieve the intended teaching outcome in a suitable manner,” reads the release.
However, the release noted the “intended outcome” of the presentation was to teach students that “human life must be respected and protected absolutely from the moment of conception,” as explained in the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Red Deer and Area Pro Life, an organization who has presented to students at the high school before, has the video they showed to the students posted to their Facebook page.
The video was made by a group called Abort73, based out of South Carolina.