Challenging Abortion at the University of Pittsburgh

TFP ^ | 11-17-05 | TFP Student Action

[concernedAmerican1]

To call abortion what it is - a grave sin - on any college campus is like exposing a raw nerve or scrubbing an infected wound. At least that is the experience of members of TFP Student Action in the past, and it was no different this time at the University of Pittsburgh on Veteran's Day, November 11.

At the crack of dawn, a contingent of TFP volunteers set out from their Spring Grove headquarters to Pittsburgh. The five-hour journey did not concern these young men seasoned in the art of street campaigns, eager to oppose the sin of abortion and its destructive culture of death. On arrival, with resolve, determination and enthusiasm they literally blanketed the University of Pittsburgh with thousands of its thought-provoking flyer, "10 Reasons Why Abortion is Evil." Student Action also took an abortion survey.

Within minutes, the campaign sparked lively discussions on street corners, bus stops, sidewalks, and classrooms. The abortionists were clearly caught off guard, and were found greatly wanting in both common courtesy and logic, either resorting to vulgar insults or liberal rhetoric fraught with contradictions. For example, some ranted against the loss of civilian life in Iraq while approving in the same breath the numerically greater loss of innocent life to the scourge of abortion.

Here are some comments that reflect the tragic mental confusion produced by a steady diet of relativist indoctrination: "I don't understand this debate, especially coming from a group of men." "No one has the right to decide anything for anyone else." "Euthanasia is not killing." "Abortion is a woman's choice. No man has the right to say if it's wrong or right." "I am pro-choice, but only because I have no right to decide for another human being what is right. I, myself, am pro-life."

Between classes, several courageous students joined the discussions, distributing literature and collecting questionnaires. One student asked for 800 extra flyers to give out. "I am against any type of abortion. It is morally wrong and is killing innocent life."

"Thank you very, very much for doing this. I'm in a hurry now, but I'll be back after class," said one young lady who later returned. "I just wanted to let you know that some people were saying bad things about you guys in class and I stood up and defended you. Keep up the good work!"

Delighted to see TFP Student Action, other students took time to explain how their professors give them bad grades if they include conservative ideas in their writing or research. "It happened to me. My assignment contained views my professor didn't agree with and I got a bad grade," one student said. "But when I exclude conservative thought, my grades go up."

There were also plenty of indifferent souls. They usually had something in common: gloomy faces and a collective unwillingness to consider anything beyond the banal, and a fear of definition.

Nevertheless, TFP bagpipers attracted lots of attention as they played patriotic music, a fitting tribute to honor the inspiring heroism of the armed forces on Veteran's Day. Beside the pipers stood a large American flag and a TFP banner. Yet, what attracted most attention was not the booming music or the flags, but rather the sight of a group of young men challenging the sin of abortion and its culture of death.

[ladiesview61]

"It happened to me. My assignment contained views my professor didn't agree with and I got a bad grade," one student said. "But when I exclude conservative thought, my grades go up."

This happened to my daughter the other day. She called me from college upset because of a low grade on her Sociology paper, saying she knew it was "A" work.(she's an English/Writing major who works in the Writer's Workshop) She said Soc. is, in fact, her easiest class, yet she continually gets low grades because she "intelligently and politely" disagrees with most of what the professor says. The paper was not on abortion, but affirmative action. She said her prof. blatantly ignores her when she tries to speak. We're talking about a very sweet, nice girl here. It's disgusting that she has to go through this, not to mention, it might ruin her chances to make the Deans List. Thankfully, she sticks to her beliefs and refuses to compromise them for a better grade. She goes to a Catholic/Jesuit college too. I should have listened to my Franciscan uncle who told my daughter to "watch out for those liberal Jesuits! lol

[Mulch]

Sounds like you have a wonderful daughter. And wise counsel from your uncle as well.

[LiteKeeper]

INTREP - Campus Chaos exhibit

[GOPPachyderm]

Thanks for posting. I applaud the courage of these individuals to raise the issue in what is often a hostile environment.