Liam Gibson, blogpost

While few people openly repudiate freedom of speech in principle, there can be little doubt that its rejection in practice has become increasingly common in recent years. So-called de-platforming and shadow banning by social media have contributed to “cancel culture” in public life. And one of the best examples of how this growing atmosphere of censorship has become a major obstacle to the spread of the pro-life message is the experience of pro-life students in our universities.

Freedom of speech is guaranteed in both domestic and international law. Nevertheless, in general, the situation in universities has become so serious that in 2019 the Conservative Party manifesto included a commitment to introduce legislation to ensure that universities and student unions did more to defend the rights of students attacked for holding the “wrong” opinions.

Widespread censorship

Last year, SPUC Scotland and the Association of Pro-life Students conducted extensive research into the policies of universities and student associations regarding freedom of speech. The investigation found widespread censorship on the part of student unions. Pro-life students faced discrimination and were continually denied the opportunity to express and defend their convictions. Across the UK, pro-life student groups have been refused access to campus facilities, have had events cancelled or been denied the kind of assistance which comes with official recognition.

The Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill, currently making its way through Parliament, aims to bolster existing protections for both students and teaching staff targeted for intimidation, blacklisting and aggression.

The Bill received its Second Reading on 12 July. During the debate, both supporters of the Bill and its opponents pledged their allegiance to the principle of freedom of expression. Still, predictably some of the most outspoken advocates of abortion denounced the Bill on the pretext that it would promote hate speech, give a platform to Holocaust deniers and allow “anti-vaxxers” to spread dangerous misinformation. Speaking in support of the Bill, the Conservative MP, Fiona Bruce, described her experience when Oxford Students for Life invited her to talk about her campaign to outlaw sex-selective abortion.

As I started to speak to a gathering of about 100 students, an attempt was made to no-platform me. A uniformed official arrived in the room and requested that the whole meeting be stopped, apparently as the event, including my views, would cause offence to students sitting in a common room on the far side of the quad opposite. They could see but could not hear me. There were many rich ironies to the situation. I was effectively being discriminated against for speaking against discrimination, for which across the world many more girls are aborted than boys, and I was being prevented from simply relating to my work that is already available in the public domain. …Eventually, the organisers of the meeting, the officials and the objectors reached a compromise: I could continue speaking if all the curtains in the room were closed.

Welcoming the bill

Although the government and many of its supporters may have little sympathy with the pro-life movement, this Bill has the potential to dramatically improve the situation of pro-life students. It is, therefore, important for two reasons. Firstly, today’s students will, in just a few years, become the medics, lawyers, civil servants, journalists and teachers who will be making decisions, shaping public attitudes and moulding the minds of schoolchildren for decades to come. The pro-abortion bias that dominates most academic institutions means that for many of them, their only exposure to a different point of view will come from a pro-life student group.

Secondly, if freedom of speech cannot be defended within our universities then the prospects of defending it in the public arena are severely threatened. The logical extension of university “safe spaces” is pro-life exclusion zones around abortion facilities. The abortion industry loathes the public presence of pro-life efforts to reach out to women considering abortion. The systematic campaign to restrict pro-life freedom of speech and freedom of assembly that is already well advanced will become increasingly difficult to resist.

Admittedly, the Higher Education (Freedom of Speech) Bill will only apply to institutions within England. But just as a threat to human rights in one place is a threat to human rights everywhere, a robust regime of legal protection for freedom of speech in English universities will have an impact far beyond the academic world.

Every day over 500 children are killed by abortion in the UK. That is something we can never hope to change if we fail to fight for pro-life freedom of speech. For that reason, we welcome this bill.