After seeing a poster in the dining hall this week advertising Pro Vita's trip to Washington D.C. to protest against abortion, I recalled other instances where I have seen Pro Vita fliers on the wall beside the Lewis staircase. In the years I have been at Dominican, I remember seeing fliers about people who have lived successful lives and informed the reader that they wouldn't have been able to contribute to society if they had been aborted.
Now I understand that with Dominican being a Catholic university, promoting pro-life is not unexpected with it being an important aspect of Catholic belief. Personally, I see both sides of the argument and I think that each side has a valid argument.
I feel guilty sometimes for leaning more toward pro-choice. I think that women having a choice is very important and they shouldn't be beholden to a religious belief however well-meaning it is. After seeing fliers posted by Pro Vita with pictures of aborted babies (I'm not 100% on this, so if such fliers weren't posted, feel free to correct me), I don't know anyone who would choose abortion over considering the option of having their baby adopted. So either way, don't you think adoption - giving the child a chance - is a better option to not giving him/her a chance at living at all?
But there is no Pro-Choice group on campus when it comes down to it. This controversial issue of abortion even extends to who some people may have voted for in this past election. A friend of mine said that her personal belief supporting pro-life affected her choice for president - that she felt she'd be going against her belief if she voted for someone supporting abortion.
Even the Wellness Center here at Dominican has stopped handing out contraceptives to students in order to support the pro-life belief so central to Catholicism.
I know how controversial the abortion issue is - I almost wasn't sure whether or not to bring this up. Though Dominican is a Catholic university, I'd be surprised if all the students at DU supported pro-life.
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I think that abortion is a henious way of dealing with pregnancy. I strongly believe it is murder. There are so many people who can't have babies that want children so badly. I believe that abortion should be made illegal in all 50 states unless the pregnancy was a result of rape or the mother's health was at risk. I'm glad that Dominican is pro-life and offers the opportunity to go to D.C. and take part in this protest of abortion. When is it? How long do students stay? How much does it cost? This is something I'd definitely be interested in participating in.
ReplyDeleteMy name's Jessica Ayette and I am the president of Pro Vita - I have a problem with a couple of the points in this blog.
ReplyDeleteThe first is the sentence, "Now I understand that with Dominican being a Catholic university, promoting pro-life is not unexpected with it being an important aspect of Catholic belief." Pro Vita is in no way a tool of the university for promoting Catholic belief. Like any other club on campus, this is a group that was formed by STUDENTS who are passionate about a cause. Furthermore, while religious beliefs motivate many students interest in the pro-life movement, there are all kinds of other motivating factors. Some people are drawn to the movement because they feel that abortion laws violate our constitution and Roe v. Wade was a poor judicial ruling. Some are drawn because (as the wonderful organization Feminists for Life states)"abortion is a reflection that we have not met the needs of women."
The second problem is the claim that Pro Vita has posted pictures of aborted babies. Our group would NEVER use such publicity and any pictures that were posted around campus did not come from our group. Thank you for mentioning that this may be a mistake, but please remember the consequences that could come from what you post! Some people are very offended and opposed to this type of publicity and I would never want that sort of thing associated with Pro Vita as it could hurt our reputation.
Thank you for posting on this topic. I think it's an incredibly important issue that all too often does not get discussed because of the fear of offending someone. I'm glad that someone had the courage to continue the discussion!
Jessica - Thanks for adding to our blog. It is essential that we hear the opinions of everyone, so that we can verify and add to the news. It is with this blog we get the conversation started and the news is continued through the mouths of the reader.
ReplyDeleteI think it is great your group has a strong opinion about something and is willing to support it. If students with pro-choice beliefs wanted to start a club, I am sure Dominican would have this group as well, even though we are a Catholic university.
Jessica -- thank you for clarifying about the pictures of aborted babies. That's why I added the note expressing my uncertainty whether they really had been posted.
ReplyDeleteAs far as the Pro Vita club being a way to promote pro-life at this Catholic university, I should have worded that in a different way. I just found that it is unsurprising that there would be a pro-life group at a Catholic university. I do realize that any on-campus student groups are formed by students and there can be a pro-choice group if enough students show interest to form that group.
I agree that there are numerous aspects of pro-life that could draw students to join the club. The main thing, as you said, is if students are passionate about the cause whether or not they are Catholic.
Thank you for your comments. I appreciate it!