Anti-abortion activists have taken their campaigns into UK universities. They are claiming that there is a campaign meant to take away their freedom of speech, and they have been on the forefront fighting to squash it. The National Union of Students (NUS) reported there were already 14 anti-abortion student organizations registered.
There has been a sharp increase across the UK in the number of anti-abortion student societies in universities. This campaign is being led by pro-life groups who have increased their presence on campuses around the country.
The demonstrations come on the back of debate about the freedom of speech in the country. A lot of students taking part in the pro-life protests around the country have accused universities and other student organizations about limiting their freedom of speech. This has led to some student unions being threatened with legal action if they attempt to prevent the anti-abortion activists’ right to assemble.
The National Union of Students (NUS) reported that there are about 14 anti-abortion student groups around the country. The sharp increase in this number has been attributed to the official pro-choice stance of student organizations. The pro-life groups are against this stance, and they are pushing back.
The growing anti-abortion activists
Just recently, there has been a series of anti-abortion demonstrations outside Cardiff University. This was in response to the student organization adopting a pro-choice stance in common with other universities. The change in policy had been suggested by Isadora Sinha, a postgraduate student of bioinformatics at Cardiff.
Sinha said that she had received threats from external forces after the policies were passed. She, however, said that the policy was not meant to curtail the freedom of speech.
She argued,
The motion was written in a way to ensure free speech and expression for those who are pro-life and the pro-life society can function as before. Unfortunately, there has been a backlash against this motion passing despite it having passed by a democratic vote by hundreds of students.
In other universities such as Birmingham, Nottingham, Aberdeen, and Strathclyde, the students’ unions have been forced to lift bans on anti-abortion activists and groups. This is after they were threatened with legal actions.
Experts such as Dr. Pam Lowe argue that the increased campaign in the universities is due to the realization that the anti-abortion demographics are getting old. They are in the process of recruiting new members who are young to advance their fight against abortion.
Dr. Pam continued by saying,
This is a deliberate policy, that’s quite new. It’s an orchestrated campaign, but where exactly it originates is unclear to me, there’s no sign that it’s really successful at the moment.
Universities will continue being the battleground for the two groups, the pro-choice and pro-life. The increased campaign by the anti-abortion activists is just the beginning of a long battle between the two groups.
Featured image by Unsplash
