Choose Life club president Natalie Fohl
The Student Society of McGill University (SSMU) has applied special restrictions on the activities of the campus pro-life club, Choose Life. After initially voting to recognize the club in the fall of 2008, the SSMU gradually increased its opposition to Choose Life after the club held events such as the Silent No More Awareness Campaign on Sept. 24, 2009 and “Echoes of the Holocaust,” a presentation by Jose Ruba of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, on Oct. 6, 2009.
The October event was officially censured by the SSMU; however, Morton Mendelson, deputy provost of student life and learning, representing the university administration, was supportive of the event proceeding. With this support, Choose Life tried to go ahead with the presentation. However, Ruba had barely started when protesters started singing and chanting, making it impossible for the presentation to be completed.
Following this event, on Nov. 12, the SSMU voted to suspend the club (in a secret ballot vote of the student council). Another motion was brought forth to revoke the club’s status altogether, but this was not approved.
As a result of the club’s suspension, Choose Life was required to work with the SSMU’s equity committee to come to an arrangement for having the club exist under the student union. The outcome of these meetings has been that the club has accepted a number of restrictions to regain its status. These restrictions were voted on and accepted at a SSMU meeting on April 1.
As a preamble, the SSMU explains, “The following recommendations place reasonable limitations on the activities of Choose Life in order to facilitate their compliance with the SSMU Equity Policy. The recommendations in this document attempt to set boundaries to ensure that the activities of Choose Life do not disrupt the ability of our members to feel safe on campus while going about their day-to-day activities, while also ensuring that the SSMU is complying with its policies when allocating its privileges and resources to groups.”
Included among the eight restrictions are rules preventing Choose Life from using SSMU resources (such as the student centre) in order to “advocate or lobby for the criminalization of abortion.” Choose Life is also not allowed to use “images of private medical procedures in public.” Moreover, any images or information the club uses cannot “accuse pregnant or post-abortive persons of being ‘morally reprehensible.’” The SSMU considers the SNMAC event to fall into this category, despite the club’s goal of reaching out to women and men who are hurting from an abortion experience. The SSMU is also requiring Choose Life to remove from its constitution the section that affiliates it with the National Campus Life Network.
No other club at McGill University has any special restrictions placed upon its activities or affiliations. Choose Life president Natalie Fohl told LifeSiteNews.com she was pleased with the return of her club’s status, but denounced the restrictions. “I think it’s a double standard and it’s very disappointing that they think that this is justified and I hope that at some point it will be rectified.”
Fohl explained that the club accepted the restrictions so that it could take advantage of club status and contribute to the abortion debate on campus.
