The Pro-Life Society at Queen’s University Belfast has been forced by the “incredibly biased” Students’ Union to take down two anti-abortion posts from social media. The Society, whose right to free speech is now threatened, is under investigation by the Union.
Complaints were registered against both social media posts that compared the treatment of unborn babies to the dehumanisation of African blacks by the slave trade, as well as likening abortion to the barbarous treatment of Jews during the Holocaust.
Queen’s Pro-Life Society is now being investigated to ascertain whether it broke student policy, particularly whether it brought the University into disrepute by not treating slavery and the Holocaust with “due consideration”.
Recently, a pro-life student at Queen’s contributed a blog post to the SPUC website detailing “the abuse and unfair treatment” that pro-lifers such as herself had received at the University, including from the Students’ Union itself.
The student reported that the response by members of the Students’ Union to a “Sanctity of Human Life” motion, including a proposal to create a post-abortive counselling service, was “unhinged” and “incredibly biased”. The debate was quickly shut down on the grounds of preserving the “mental health” of people present at the meeting.
This month, SPUC also reported on a shocking survey revealing that one in four students are “threatened, abused, alarmed or distressed” for being pro-life at university.
SPUC comment
A SPUC spokesperson said: “This act of attempted censorship is, above all, a matter of freedom of speech, a facet of a free and democratic society, which is especially vital in a university space.
“Unfortunately, Queen’s Students’ Union has a history of extreme bias against pro-life students. Whether or not pro-life students will be granted a fair hearing remains to be seen, though at this point it seems unlikely.
“The posts themselves forward a common viewpoint and moral comparison that the students were entirely within their rights to express, enshrined by Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which applies to campuses.
“Article 10 states that: ‘Everyone has the right to freedom of expression. This right shall include freedom to hold opinions and to receive and impart information and ideas without interference by public authority and regardless of frontiers.’
“Free speech must be maintained and protected on campus. We’re asking SPUC’s supporters to help these dedicated pro-life students by writing to the University’s Vice-Chancellor and to the president of the Students’ Union (see details below).”
Queen’s Vice-Chancellor (Prof. Ian Greer):
vc.office@qub.ac.uk
Queen’s Student Union President (Grian Ni Dhaimhin):
su.president@qub.ac.uk
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