Youth Protecting Youth

This weekend some of us had the joy of meeting two of the Sisters of Life and hearing about their ministry. They are a community of women who devote their lives to “the protection and enhancement of the sacredness of every human life.”

They shared with us stories of the women they work with and walk with, and gave beautiful insight on how they go about their ministry.

What struck me most was their love. These women radiate love for everyone with whom they come in contact. And so, I have a message for you from YPY, which reiterates our very first blog post, but which cannot be said enough:

You are loved. You are loved regardless of your actions, regardless of your circumstances, regardless of your views on abortion or your opinion of us. You are a person of value and dignity simply by nature of being. Whoever you are and wherever you go, you are loved.

Two of our members have an opinion piece in this week’s issue of The Martlet (UVic’s student paper):

http://martlet.ca/martlet/article/offended-not-harassed/

“We must challenge ourselves to examine the truth of any claim made. Let us ask if ideas are true, not if they’re offensive, and debate ideas in an open, intellectual fashion. This way we will find out false ideas and dismiss them. The truth may sometimes be offensive, but speaking truth isn’t harassment, and suppressing it doesn’t make it any less true.”

February 7, 2012: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

University of Victoria Pro-Life Club Censored Once Again

Victoria B.C.-The University of Victoria Student’s Society (UVSS) Board of Directors passed two motions to publicly censure the pro-life club on campus, Youth Protecting Youth (YPY) last night, February 6^th. The first motion was put forward in response to complaints stemming from an event the club held last November called “Choice” Chain and charged the students with violating the UVSS Harassment Policy. The second motion was passed in response to a poster the club put up on campus in October. As a result, YPY will be denied their ability to book public space on campus for their events and is forbidden to hold “Choice” Chain or other similar events. The club is also banned from putting up posters until a new policy is written by the UVSS to govern poster content. The board also ordered YPY to write a letter of apology to groups who were offended by the poster.

“Choice” Chain is a project developed by the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBR) and consists of volunteers holding three by four foot signs with graphic images of first trimester aborted fetuses. The volunteers engage passers-by in dialogue about abortion. More information about the project can be found here: http://www.unmaskingchoice.ca/projects/choicechain

“This is a disappointing development,” said Cameron Côté, YPY Vice-President and coordinator of the “Choice” Chain event. “People may have felt offended by the images but that in no way constitutes harassment. If you merely have to claim your feelings were hurt or you disliked someone’s message or way of expressing themselves to find that person guilty of harassment, freedom of speech ceases to exist. While we recognize that some people do not like our message, that doesn’t mean we should be censored.  ”

Campus Outreach Director for CCBR, Alanna Gomez, stated, “The charges of harassment have no grounds. There were no complaints made about the conduct of the students, because they acted respectfully and peacefully. The only complaints were based on the negative feelings people had because they didn’t like the pictures the students were holding. Just because someone doesn’t like a picture doesn’t mean they have been harassed, which is what the UVSS is trying to claim.”

The poster that resulted in the second motion was developed by National Campus Life Network (NCLN), and compares the current denial of legal personhood to the pre-born in Canada with similar treatment of other groups in the past. The poster can be viewed here: http://www.ncln.ca/resources/print-resources/person-poster/

“I thought the UVSS had moved past this type of discrimination and censorship since the settlement of YPY’s lawsuit in July 2010,” said Anastasia Pearse, former YPY president. Pearse currently works as the Western Campus Coordinator for NCLN. “Censorship of the abortion debate at a university is shameful and unacceptable.”

“YPY will not tolerate this ideological discrimination,” said Côté. “We must all demand that our   society be free of discrimination and censorship of minority or unpopular viewpoints. If there is a right not to be offended than we cannot have freedom of speech in this country or on campus.The legal killing of so many innocent human beings is a disturbing topic, but it is far too serious to suppress or ignore.”

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For further information:

Cameron Côté (YPY Vice President) – 778-678-4275, youthprotectingyouth@gmail.com

Alanna Gomez (CCBR Campus Outreach Director) – 403-690-5217, acampbell@unmaskingchoice.ca

Anastasia Pearse (NCLN Western Coordinator) – 604-365-3484, westerncanada@ncln.ca

I’ve heard a lot of criticism for certain pro-life tactics. Specifically, I’ve seen it suggested in a variety of instances that in our efforts to further the pro-life cause, we should be careful not to upset people – not to make people uncomfortable. After all, won’t people reject our message if we make them uncomfortable?

Imagine you’re sitting in a chair. What would motivate you to change your position? If you’re perfectly comfortable sitting just the way you are, why would you change? Discomfort is what tells us that maybe our position is not the best. Maybe there’s a better one, and maybe we should move.

We live in a country where around 100 000 human beings are legally killed each year through abortion. Revealing to people that abortion kills human beings should make them uncomfortable. If we are willing to look at the truth of the matter, we should all be very uncomfortable, in fact, with the position our society takes toward the treatment of human beings before birth. If we all stopped cushioning abortion in euphemistic language and looked at the fact that preborn human beings are deliberately killed by doctors on a daily basis, perhaps our society would shift its position.

The initial reaction to being confronted with the truth about abortion may very well be anger. Most people don’t like to feel uncomfortable with their position.  Those open to discussion and honest examination of the issue, however, will soon see that it’s not the message or the images of abortion that are so disturbing – it’s the fact that this is really happening and we’re allowing it to happen. Others may not be willing to discuss or even consider the issue when it’s presented to them – that is their decision.

Telling people the truth about abortion may upset them. Not telling them is doing them a disservice in that they may remain unaware of the injustice that we as a society are currently allowing. Not telling them covers up the deaths of around three hundred human beings in Canada alone every single day. It’s ok to say abortion kills human beings, because it’s true. It’s ok to make people uncomfortable by being straightforward about the injustices going on in our world. It’s not ok to hide the truth for fear of making people uncomfortable. That helps no one.

I challenge you to let yourself be uncomfortable. Read the medical case against abortion. See the reality of abortion in Canada. Consider the uncomfortable truth about the way our society treats unborn human beings, and about any other injustice you encounter . Don’t shy away from your discomfort – let it motivate you to make change for the better.

A press release was sent out today via the National Campus Life Network that members of the pro-life club at the University of Calgary will be going to court. They are hopeful that the courts will quash a decision by the University of Calgary, which found seven students guilty of non-academic misconduct for setting up a controversial pro-life display on the university campus.

Having experienced our own struggles with freedom of expression on the campus of the University of Victoria (although not with the University, but with the Student’s Society), Youth Protecting Youth stands in solidarity with Campus Pro-life Calgary and is hopeful that the court system will uphold the free speech rights of the students involved. The press release in its entirety can be found on the National Campus Life Network website, found here.