Pro-abortion students at the University of Edinburgh have disrupted a pro-life event presentation exploring the growing issue of coerced abortion, stating “This is not what we stand for at the University… we are not allowing you to continue this talk.” 

Margaret Akers, SPUC’s Services Coordinator, was invited by Edinburgh Life Society to speak at the event on 17 October about the growing issue of coerced abortion in the United Kingdom.  

The presentation was quickly disrupted by pro-abortion students. The protestors held signs which read ‘abortion is healthcare’, and halted the presentation, disallowing it from continuing. The students used megaphones to shout at Mrs Akers and those in attendance.  

The protestors stated: “Stop this talk right now. We are disrupting this talk. We are not letting you spread your harmful rhetoric against people with uteruses. Stop this right now. We are claiming this space. Students are not okay with this group coming here to spread harmful rhetoric. Stop it… 

“We are not allowing this to happen on our campus. This is not about freedom of speech. This spreading harmful misinformation which is actively harming people with uteruses today…” 

Attempting to deescalate the situation, the President of Edinburgh Life Society invited any of the abortion protesters who were “willing to listen” to “come down and sit” and assured them that they were going to “have some conversation at the end that will be really interesting.” 

The abortion protests refused and stated: “This is not conversation. There is no common ground here because you are actively harming people…This is not what we stand for at the University… You guys do not deserve to have a platform here. We are not allowing you to continue this talk.” 

Pro-life students have as much of a right to voice their opinion as any other student group

Mrs Akers decided to open the floor for discussion between the protestors and pro-life students. 

Mrs Akers said: “Based on the nature of the issue, and the vitriolic tone by many on social media ahead of the event, I was aware of the possibility of protestors. I have spoken to university groups on many occasions and have never faced backlash to that extent. 

“I was disappointed with how the evening went. It became quite clear that I was not going to be able to present in the way I had prepared, so thought it wiser to open the floor to a discussion between students, so as to deescalate any tension in the room. I would have hoped the discussion could be more open, but it ended up being an opportunity for some students to air their grievances. The pro-life students have as much of a right to hold and voice their opinion as any other student group and should not be shamed or targeted for doing so. Part of the reason I give this particular talk is to amplify the voices of people who have experienced coercion to have an abortion they did not want. This is a group of people who often feel as though they have nowhere to tell their story – it was disappointing that the protesting students sought to silence their voices.” 

The reasons women "choose" abortion can be complex, but many women are coerced, to a greater or lesser degree, into undergoing abortion by others. A SavantaComRes poll commissioned by the BBC found that 15% of women aged 18-44 had been pressured into having an abortion they didn't want. 

Universities should be environments for free and open exchange of ideas

Leading up to the event, Edinburgh Life Society members had been subject to abusive messages and cyberbullying on Instagram by abortion activists who were displeased that a discussion on coerced abortion was being permitted on university campus. 

One pro-abortion user wrote: “I’d like to cook the person who runs this [pro-life society] on a hot grill.” Pro-life Society members were told to “shut the f*** up” by another pro-abortion user. 

In a Twitter statement, the pro-abortion protestors who claimed responsibility for the disruption stated: “There is no place for anti-choice groups in Edinburgh. If the university fails to expell them, we won't let them spread their hate.”

Mrs Akers added: “Universities should be environments for free and open exchange of ideas – and that includes topics on which people vehemently disagree. In the future, I would hope the university use a firmer hand to protect freedom of speech at on campus events.”