Commons vote for sex ed bill deplored by leading pro-life group SPUC London, - The Society for the Protection of Unborn Children (SPUC) has deplored tonight's House of Commons vote for the Children, Schools and Families bill.

The bill was given a third reading by 268 votes in favour to 177 votes against, and now goes to the House of Lords. 

Commenting on the sex education proposals in the bill, Paul Tully, SPUC’s general secretary,  said: "This is a dire result for school-children and for unborn children who are in the firing­-line of this bill. They are the ones who will bear inordinate suffering and death as a result of schools being compelled to promote abortion and the sexualisation of teenagers.  "Ed Balls, the schools secretary, made clear this morning that the intention of his sex education proposals in the Children, Schools and Families bill is to make all schools, including faith schools, teach children how to use and where to obtain birth control and abortion. "These are the key ‘advertising’ messages that the pro-abortion lobby is fighting to have promoted throughout the education system - where children can be influenced and corrupted without parental guidance or protection. "The sexualisation of children in schools goes further than this, however. Already, parents are being kept in the dark about sexual health interventions on their children - whether birth control (drugs, implants or devices), STI/HIV tests and treatment, or abortion, being provided via the school system. "Using the education system to by-pass parents and corrupt their children - especially those under the age of consent - is a grave abuse of power by the state. "Many people will be especially appalled that both the National Society of the Church of England and the education service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference have endorsed the provisions of the bill. Mr Balls made much of the support for the bill by Archbishop Nichols, and we have called upon the Archbishop, and other faith leaders to reconsider their support even at this late stage."