A Catholic teacher from the United States who was working in Scotland says she lost her job after responding to students’ questions about American life, including abortion, President Donald Trump and transgender issues.
Sarah Morse, 66, has filed a case against Arbroath High School, which is operated by Angus Council, alleging discrimination. An employment tribunal is scheduled to begin Aug. 24.
According to The Sunday Times, the episode that led to Morse’s dismissal took place in November 2025 while she was teaching history to students around the ages of 14 and 15. Morse said she had given the class a worksheet about the rise of Adolf Hitler.
Morse, who was raised in Atlanta, Georgia, said students began asking her questions about the United States, including what she believed about abortion. She said she answered: “I am a faithful Roman Catholic, and I am against it.”
When another student asked about abortion in cases of rape, Morse said she explained her belief that an unborn child should not be punished for the circumstances of conception. She also said she acknowledged that others may hold different views.
Later the same day, Morse said she received an email asking her to meet with a senior staff member. Instead, she said she was “stunned” to learn that her employment was being terminated.
“I was not offered any sort of right of reply, asked for my account of what happened or how my legally protected beliefs were raised in the context of a history class and the head teacher wouldn’t even see me,” she said.
Morse said the school dismissed her because she discussed religion and abortion with students. She maintains that she did not attempt to persuade them and only responded to their questions with “short, factual statements of personal belief.”
Although Morse is Catholic and opposes abortion, she said she made clear to students that they were free to disagree with her. Morse said she does not plan to teach in Scotland again and described the ordeal as an “absolute nightmare.”
The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children is backing Morse’s legal challenge.
“The dismissal of a teacher for respectfully answering a student’s question truthfully according to her conscience is a grave matter,” Michael Robinson, executive director of SPUC, said in a statement shared by The Courier.
“Government guidelines on political impartiality in the classroom do not prohibit the mention of a teacher’s legally protected beliefs, provided there is no attempt to persuade,” Robinson said.
“The school did not follow any due process. There was no attempt to ascertain from Sarah what had happened, and the headteacher was not present and would not even see her,” Robinson said. “This latest incident of trying to silence someone with traditional or religious views is utterly disgraceful and should worry us all.”
