Students at University College London (UCL) have officially declared their campus ‘pro-choice’ and have voted to restrict the Catholic Society from having their own debates and speakers, forcing them to invite pro-abortion speakers to pro-life discussions.
The passed motion states that: ‘Any future open events focusing on the issue of termination invite an anti-choice speaker and a pro-choice speaker as well as an independent chair, to ensure there is a balance to the argument.’
The Student Union also voted to adopt a fixed pro-abortion stance and formally affiliate itself to the organisation ‘Abortion Rights’.
Criticism
The motion has been criticised for encouraging a culture of intolerance towards freedom of speech and freedom of religion.
Kajtek Skowronski, a second year medical student at UCL, said that the motion’s passage means that the Student Union has effectively shut down pro-life opinions being disseminated on campus, a clear violation of freedom of speech.
Neil Addison, a barrister and expert on religious discrimination law, said that the motion is “completely illegal” under The Education Act 1986, and under Articles 9, 10, and 11 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
The students who passed this motion, Addison said, “have adopted an essentially totalitarian and intolerant stance unworthy of an Academic Institution.”
“Hitler and Stalin would be proud of them.”
Blogger ‘Cranmer’ wrote: “His Grace looks forward to pro-Israeli speakers being invited to meetings of the Palestine Society, and for members of the Conservative Society being called to address the Labour Society, and for all avid Guardian-reading lecturers to be accompanied by ardent readers of RightMinds.”
Other Christian Unions
In 2006, student guilds and associations at three universities, Exeter, Birmingham and Edinburgh, decided to suspend Christian groups from membership or use of premises claiming that their constitutions or meetings are exclusionary and discriminate against non-Christians, leading to a number of long running disputes.
Andrea Minichiello Williams, CEO of Christian Concern, said:
“This motion has to be illegal. It stands against fundamental freedoms, and is an attempt to stop freedom of speech and belief. I don't know how this can happen on the campus of a respected university."
Source
Resources
Christian Concern: Religious Freedom