Students to vote on UVSS pro-choice policy
UVic undergrads decide what is more important: a woman’s reproductive right or a student’s right to be represented by the university’s students’ society
by Megan Stewart
The Martlet (University of Victoria)
A campus club that stands “for the right to life for all of humanity” is hoping to change the students’ society’s policies on abortion at next week’s semi-annual general meeting.
Members of Youth Protecting Youth (YPY) are endorsing a motion that seeks to amend the current pro-choice stance of the University of Victoria Students’ Society (UVSS) to a neutral, non-aligned standpoint. The motion also resolves to repeal the Society’s open opposition to any law that would criminalize abortion.
The vice-president of YPY says the debate is less about a woman’s right to an abortion and more about the UVSS taking a stance on an issue that may exclude members of the Society.
“The conflict doesn’t really make much sense,” said Del Myers. “The problem here is that there are members forced into association with UVSS policies that they consider morally objectionable.”
Since 1989, the UVSS Issues Policy on gender has clearly outlined the society’s support for 10 basic rights, two of which members of YPY now want to strike from the books. The contested stipulations are: “The Society supports freedom of choice in the matter of abortion” and “The Society supports the fundamental right of all women to control their bodies.”
The motion, tabled in November 2004, argues that the two contested policies “introduce a pro-abortion language” that implies all students support abortion. The motion reads that the Society’s pro-choice policies “marginalize a great number of the Society’s members who cannot support abortion as a matter of conscience or religious faith.”
Members of YPY also want to repeal Gender Policy #2 where the Society states its opposition to any legal restrictions to getting a safe abortion. According to the motion, this policy stifles free speech and could eventually set a “poor example” in the future, since it “indiscriminately opposes law on a contentious issue which deserves open dialogue.”
In defence of the status quo, Students Protecting Choice (SPC) is campaigning against any attempt to alter the society’s pro-choice stance towards abortion.
SPC, an affiliate of the Women’s Centre, calls itself a “network of pro-choice students at UVic.” The awareness campaign was created specifically in response to the motions put forward by YPY members and is amassing as many people as possible to attend the SAGM since all undergrads, not just board members, are eligible to vote on motions.
SPC thinks that most people reject the position that abortion is morally wrong and feel that forcing a woman to have a child against her will is the true moral culprit. SPC is hosting a panel discussion on the importance of a woman’s right to reproductive choice prior to the SAGM.
Spokesperson for SPC Danielle Edwards says abortion is such a basic right that it is no longer a topic for discussion. “There are some things you just don’t debate because they are human rights,” she said.
In November 1999, YPY was temporarily stripped of its club status after the group distributed material that the board considered “anti-choice.” According to SUB general manager Marne Jensen, the Society’s pro-choice status does not prevent YPY from club status or from bringing speakers to campus.
Edwards thinks that one of the main reasons YPY wants the UVSS to adopt a neutral stance towards abortion is to bring the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) to UVic. YPY says it has no intention of bringing the campaign to campus.
Already banned from several Canadian universities, the U.S.-based GAP has received strong criticism from campuses across the country for showing graphic images of aborted fetuses and for comparing abortion to mass slaughter akin to the Holocaust.
GAP has never been sponsored at UVic.
In October 2003, Katherine Brach of YPY told the Martlet that pro-lifers are not easy to pigeonhole. Arguing that she could be a pro-lifer and a feminist, Brach said both positions share important tenets.
“The three principles of feminism that speak most strongly to me are non-discrimination, non-violence and justice for all. Abortion violates all three. For me being feminist and being pro-life is to respect and love all life,” she said.
The Student Christian Movement (SCM), a social-justice group that has taken a pro-choice stance, finds fault in YPY’s intent and message. In a letter to the Martlet that ran Jan. 27, two SCM members wrote that they were standing up for a woman’s right to choose, despite having pro-life beliefs.
SCM also sent a letter outlining their views to YPY.
Agata Lis, UVSS director of finance, is torn on the issue and has not yet decided if she will vote for or against the motion. While she considers herself a “strong supporter” of women’s rights, Lis also wants to protect a student’s right to showcase his or her personal views on campus. She believes the anti-choice policy is hypocritical and that it marginalizes some students who still pay student fees.
“That’s why I’m torn. I’m a strong advocate of women’s rights, but I also support the right of students to express their opinions.”
Edwards doesn’t think the student body will support either motion. “There is no chance it will be passed,” she said. “A woman’s right to [her] autonomy cannot be contested.”
The UVSS semi-annual general meeting begins at 3 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 10 in Cinecenta.
All undergraduate students are welcome and eligible to vote on motions.
