Commentary by Susan Brinkmann, OCDS
In yet another example of how far this Catholic university has strayed from its foundation, Georgetown University is under fire for hosting a pro-abortion event designed to denounce public policies aimed at protecting human life.
According to the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS), the November 11 event was entitled, “Dismantling Reproductive Injustices: The Hyde Amendment and the Criminalization of Self-Induced Abortion.” Hosted by the Georgetown Journal of Gender and the Law at Georgetown Law, the goal of the event was to bring together “leading scholars and practitioners in the fields of reproductive justice, feminist jurisprudence and queer legal theory” to focus on “the intersections of access to reproductive healthcare, gender identity, poverty, race, ethnicity and culture” as relates to the Hyde Amendment and self-induced abortion.”
CNS News Editor Adam Cassandra explains that the two “injustices” discussed at the event – the Hyde Amendment and laws against self-induced abortion – are both in place to protect human life. The Hyde Amendment restricts taxpayer funding for abortion at the federal level and ‘self-induced abortion’ refers to non-surgical (chemical) methods of killing an unborn child that involve limited or no supervision by medical professionals.
What was probably not discussed at the event is the fact that the majority of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for abortion – so presenting the Hyde Amendment as an injustice is a stretch, at best. And the reason why laws are being written to curtail self-induced abortion is because there have been thousands of adverse events reported in regard to chemical abortions which calls into question the health risks these drugs pose to unsuspecting women, let alone the unborn babies who are destroyed in the process.
Even though events like Georgetown’s are supposed to be part of the “free exchange of ideas”, it’s doubtful that any of the above was even mentioned during the day-long conference.
As Cassandra reports, “Every featured speaker at the symposium is in some way involved in trying to legalize, normalize or support abortion either through their personal activism or through their employers and affiliated organizations. And the event was co-sponsored by the abortion advocacy organization If/When/How along with a Georgetown institute that publicly supports abortion on its website, the O’Neill Institute.”
He goes to correctly assert that the conference wasn’t just an academic exercise, it was about advocacy.
“Appeals to academic freedom and the “free exchange of ideas” can’t justify this event and its evil intentions. There’s absolutely no indication that Georgetown simply wanted to examine these laws in an objective manner.”
Even more egregious is the fact that this conference was held just eight months after the university was chastised by the Archdiocese of Washington for inviting Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards to speak.
The Archdiocese publicly scolded the university in its official newspaper:
“Welcoming an ardent supporter of the violent taking of an unborn human life is deeply offensive and heart-rending to other Georgetown students, teachers, alumni and community members who believe in the Catholic teaching that all human life has God-given dignity from conception to natural death,” the paper stated in an editorial. “Apparently to some, the one group of people that it is acceptable to offend, even at a Catholic university, are Catholics.”
Georgetown refused to retract Richards’ speaking invitation, citing the usual “academic freedom” talking point to justify its blatant disregard for Catholic teaching.
“The Church recognizes the importance of academic freedom at Catholic colleges, but insists that it’s practiced ‘within the confines of the truth and the common good’,” Cassandra writes. “A Catholic university’s obligation to search for and teach truth includes the truth about the sacredness of human life.”
However, in the case of the most recent conference, not one of the speakers offered a faithful Catholic witness to students on campus so calling this a “free exchange of ideas” is just plain disingenuous.
“The university’s persistent embrace of abortion activists is nothing but scandalous and a slap in the face of the bishops and all the Catholic faithful,” Cassandra writes.
“Serious and immediate action needs to be taken to ensure Georgetown’s commitment to Catholic identity, or the leadership of the university should finally publicly admit that it has no concern for appearing to be a faithfully Catholic institution.”
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