Australian pro-life advocacy has chalked up a win against anti-life activism.
The Fair Work Commission (FWC) ruled in favour of mother, professor, and preborn advocate, Dr. Joanna Howe’s right to research the controversial subject without harassment.
A victim of “mass reporting,” Howe took Adelaide University, and its Woke workplace bullying to the FWC.
The reason?
Howe has faced six disruptive internal investigations in five years.
Each one was sparked by TikTok abortion activists not connected to the University.
Despite being cleared six times, Adelaide Uni enabled the attempted political hijacking of her work by entertaining the seemingly well-coordinated anti-life assault.
The final straw was Adelaide Uni demanding that Dr. Howe, an Oxford-educated professor, get re-educated.
Without just cause, they ordered her to undergo anti-bias training.
In challenging the attacks on her character, and professional reputation, Dr. Howe told The Australian, the fight wasn’t just for her academic freedom, it was for all Australians.
“I’m doing this for our freedoms, for all Australians who are sick and tired of the bullying and the harassment of the radical left who expect us all to comply with their Woke religion.”
Ruling on the matter in early August, the FWC handed Dr. Howe back the right to research.
As highlighted by Samuel Hartwich from the Daily Declaration, this includes a defence of free speech, and Dr. Howe’s right to speak freely about abortion.
The “confidential settlement” lifts, what she called “unfair corrective actions imposed upon her by Adelaide Uni.”
Thanking her legal team, Harmers Workplace Lawyers, the pro-life professor wrote, “This is an important victory for academic freedom and free speech.”
A joint public statement shared within the same Instagram post said, “The University has accepted the FWC’s recommendation for the University not to require Professor Howe to comply with the corrective actions, and that no further action will be taken in this matter.”
Both Dr. Howe, and the University “have agreed on a process regarding the investigation of complaints moving forward.”
Adelaide Uni expressed support for academic freedom in the statement, citing its “Enterprise Agreement 2023–2025 and its Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom Policy.”
While Dr. Howe’s win is a significant smackdown of far-left cancel culture, she says there’s more to do.
Case in point is Queensland Labor’s latest appeal to voters, promising more access to the violent termination of life in the womb.
Although Dr. Howe’s legal battle has been won, there’s a war being waged against the unborn, and those who speak out on their behalf.
“I know this firsthand,” she wrote in an update on her website, “because of my experience as a scholar who is publicly critical of laws permitting abortion through all nine months of pregnancy in Australia.
“This has resulted in a sustained and concerted public campaign by pro-abortion activists and online trolls weaponising the complaints mechanism of my university against me,” she added.
Reflecting on the win, and the long road ahead, Dr. Howe wrote, “I’m acutely aware of the tens of thousands of Australians who do not feel free to express themselves publicly or in their workplace for fear of repercussions.”
Resolute, she has written to Professor David Lloyd, Chair of Universities Australia, asking for Universities to adjust how they process complaints from outside the academy.
Dr. Howe is requesting reform.
Her proposal is for Unis to “mandatorily dismiss complaints which are made vexatiously or in bad faith about the research or conduct of academics,” such as mass reporting.
Dr. Howe’s letter coincides with an online petition to save freedom of speech, preserve diversity of opinion, and reject cancel culture. The petition has been signed by almost 3,000 people.
Those looking to support Dr. Howe, and her important work, which includes fighting censorship of opposing viewpoints, and exposing the true face of the abortion industry, should sign her petition here.
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