CSB+SJU does not need a pro-choice club

The title of pro-life is often associated with being anti-abortion and fighting for every child’s inherent right to life, starting from conception.

However, in response to the opinion piece from last week, the CSB+SJU “Students For Life Club” (SLF) is the only club regarding the issue of abortion that should be allowed on these campuses.

A pro-choice club on these campuses would directly reject the Catholic Christian values that CSB+SJU institutionalizes. The CSB+SJU SFL Club promotes the right to life of all people.

Being authentically pro-life, as the SFL club stands for, is to support life from conception to natural death. It means supporting all life issues—from ending the death penalty, abortion, physician-assisted suicide (death with dignity), promoting greater disability rights, providing better financial assistance for low-income families and many other issues directly related to protecting the dignity of human life.

To say that approving a pro-choice club on campus would not endorse pro-choice beliefs is false and misleading. Abortion is still a major moral concern. Planned Parenthood is a major pro-choice institution that endorses the killing of innocent children in the womb.

The pro-life group, both on-campus and nationwide, protests the immoral practices of this international institution. For example, Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood and eugenicist, repeatedly proclaimed that certain people should not be allowed to have children, including racial and ethnic minorities.

To discount the claim made last week, the pro-choice movement and abortion industry are more discriminatory to those in poverty and people of color. For example, African American babies are more likely to be aborted in New York City than born. Planned Parenthood, as a whole, provided 383,460 abortions between 2020 and 2021. That is 383,460 babies (not fetuses) killed in the womb.

Unborn babies are their own person from the moment of conception with their own unique set of DNA, an evident characteristic of human life, a biologically verified fact and a biblically asserted reality. In contrast, pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) provide the same reproductive health services as Planned Parenthood but from a drastically more ethical, family-friendly approach.

Approximately 2,700 pro-life PRCs nationwide served almost two million people in 2020. They offer STD/STI and HIV testing, cancer screenings, pregnancy tests, ultrasounds and health services for both men and women. It is a facility that does not discriminate against race, ethnicity or sex.

Oftentimes, these services are free, abiding by Title X guidelines and supporting patients who fall under its jurisdiction. These facilities have expanded their community outreach by providing free parenting and prenatal education programs for new parents, diapers and clothing for newborn babies, after-abortion support for women and sexual risk avoidance education presentations for students.

PRCs do not offer abortions, meaning both mother and child are treated with equal dignity, respecting life at every stage. To address the other arguments made last week, having a pro-choice club at CSB+SJU would be incredibly problematic, and this opinion is my attempt to defend the pro-life stance of these schools and the Catholic Church.

To claim that the Catholic Church does not have a consensus on abortion is deceitful. The Catholic Church vehemently rejects the practice of abortion and asserts it as a moral atrocity and a significant component of the culture of death that modern society supports.

The Church has repeatedly affirmed that life begins at conception and should be protected and preserved until natural death. The Bible and Catholic social teaching declare abortion as a moral evil. See the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops: “Respect for Unborn Human Life: The Church’s Constant Teaching;” The Catechism of the Catholic Church Part III, Section I; Exodus 20:13; and Psalm 139: 13-16 for reference.

As Catholic institutions, CSB+SJU is morally obligated to uphold pro-life teachings and reject pro-choice doctrine, including refusing to have a pro-choice club on campus. A pro-choice club would be a blatant opposition to Catholic values, which would compromise the integrity of these schools. As Catholic establishments, CSB+SJU should continue to support and fund clubs that promote Catholic, Benedictine values, such as respect for persons.

The SFL Club upholds these values, therefore validating the sponsorship provided by CSB+SJU. As a rebuttal to the assertion that over half of American Catholics support legal abortion and believe Roe v. Wade should not have been overturned—the Catholic Church and its official teachings is anti-abortion in all stages and cases.

Although I may disagree with my professor on an assignment or a law prohibiting me from stealing, it does not make the assignment or the law incorrect or morally wrong. It is similar to the statement that American Catholics believe abortion is “ok,” when it is never ok. This statistic also does not prove the opinions of the international Church. The pro-life cause is noble and just. Standing up for the right to life of unborn babies and all members of the human family from conception to natural death is a beautiful purpose to live by.

Genuine promotion of pro-life issues is about respectful consideration, love and compassion for all people, and these institutions should continue to support the pro-life movement as Catholic establishments.

If you are upset with the absence of a pro-choice club on these religious campuses, then you must look at the fact that it was your choice to attend a private Catholic institution rather than a public university.