By John-Henry Westen
WASHINGTON, DC, September 26, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A change of policy at Georgetown University Law Center will permit the university – which is the oldest Catholic university in the nation – to give grants to students who lobby for abortion for agencies such as Planned Parenthood. The Hoya, the Georgetown University newspaper, reports on its front page today about the policy change.
The policy change was announced September 7 by Law Center Dean T. Alexander Aleinikoff in a letter published in the Law Center’s student newspaper. The decision comes after the Law Center got flack from pro-abortion students and faculty for directing student group Equal Justice Foundation, which received university funds, to refuse funding to a student who applied for funding to intern at Planned Parenthood.
The Hoya reports that the university Law Center will no longer consider the mission of organizations in determining grants, as was the case for the initial denial of funding for the Planned Parenthood position. “In partnership with the Equal Justice Foundation, the Law Center will provide grants to all students who work on law-related issues at a public interest organization or government agency,” wrote Aleinikoff.
Joy Welan, the president of the Catholic university’s Law Center pro-abortion group – “Law Students for Choice” – rejoiced at the decision admitting that her group met with Aleinikoff several times over the policy. “We think that this compromise is fantastic news, for students who are interested in pursuing careers in reproductive rights advocacy,” Welan told The Hoya. “The dean has taken a huge step forward in advancing Georgetown’s commitment to public interest law, and we applaud him for it.”
Daniel Hughes, president of the Law Center’s pro-life group – “Progressive Alliance for Life” – said plainly that the Catholic university was now funding abortion advocacy.
“Aleinikoff has a radically secular, morally relativistic vision for the Law Center,” Hughes said in an e-mail to The Hoya. “He and other administrators have crafted a dishonest, legalistic ‘compromise’ that will allow students to gain assured, extensive Georgetown funding for pro-abortion legal work.”
Spokesmen for the university Administration did not return calls from LifeSiteNews.com prior to press time.
The Archdiocese of Washington did not comment on the development. Mark Adkinson, Communications Assistant at the Archdiocese of Washington, told LifeSiteNews.com that the Archdiocese does not oversee the university since it is in the control of the Jesuit Order.
To express concerns to the Apostolic Nuncio:
Archbishop Pietro Sambi
3339 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W, Washington, DC, USA
Telephone: (202)333-7121
Fax: 337-4036
To contact Georgetown University
President John J. DeGioia
Office of the President
204 Healy Hall
37th & O Streets, NW
Washington, DC 20057
Tel: (202) 687-4134
Fax: (202) 687-6660
Email: https://contact.georgetown.edu/index.cfm?Action=Mail&NetID=ems62