OXFORD, England (LifeSiteNews) — Pro-abortion students at Oxford University on October 7 destroyed a pro-life display created by fellow students and refused to leave until security assured them the display would not be put back up.
“The contents of the stall were placed in a black bin which was then dragged outside, before the protestors were loudly and aggressively stopped by security,” the Oxford Student wrote. “They refused to leave until they were assured that the stall would not be reinstated and claimed that if the stall was put back up, it would simply be taken down again by another group of students.”
The booth itself had slogans and pictures of signs the pro-life student group used at rallies in the area. Some of the placards displayed phrases such as “Life from conception: no exception” and “This is what a pro-life feminist looks like.”
Oxford Students for Life (OSFL) is “non-sectarian” and “student-run,” with the goal of promoting “a culture of life at the University and in the wider community, advocating the protection of human life and dignity from conception to natural death.”
The Oxford Student reported that the destruction of OSFL’s property came after the group had been actively lobbied against by a student-run, pro-abortion, radical feminist group, the Oxford Feminist Society.
Despite the violent destruction of property directed at the OSFL, the Oxford Feminist Society doubled down on its mission to have pro-life messaging at the school disallowed, claiming that pro-life speech threatens the “safety, health and autonomy of women.”
The Oxford Feminist Society published a statement directed to the Oxford Student Union (SU), the group that ran the Freshers’ Fair where the pro-life display was destroyed.
“The reproductive policy of the SU to ‘support the right to choose’ and to ‘campaign and extend students rights of practical access to an abortion and extend rights of choice over pregnancy’ are undermined by having an anti-abortion stall,” the feminist group wrote. “Oxford Feminist Society takes a firm stance against the pro-life organisation being promoted at the SU’s Freshers’ Fair.”
The “Women’s Campaign,” another feminist group at Oxford, also released a statement condemning SU for allowing the pro-life students to have a booth on campus during their event.
“We understand the importance of free speech, but we also think that the resources they were distributing had real potential to trigger students who may have had to deal, or are currently dealing with, decisions to do with reproduction and pregnancy,” outlined the group. “[Women’s Campaign] stands in solidarity with all women and people assigned female at birth who have had abortions for any reason, and we urge Oxford Students for Life to consider the impact their message and resources could potentially have on the wider student community.”
In response to the criticism, Oxford SU maintained its stance of being “unequivocally” pro-abortion, admitting it was bound by the “University Freedom of Speech regulations” which allow for dissent.
The OSFL pro-life group also addressed the issue, saying that many students expressed support for their booth and the information provided, and even the majority of people who disagree with their pro-life stance and support abortion, were happy to engage in respectful dialogue.
“Many students from all sides of the abortion debate have engaged positively with our stall over the Fair, and we’ve had a huge amount of compassionate and respectful conversations about these ethical issues,” the pro-life organization stated. “We are disappointed that a small group of students decided to take direct action against our stall, and are grateful to those working at the fair who have worked to protect our right to maintain our presence there.”
In Britain, there are few restrictions placed on abortion. A woman can have her unborn child killed assuming she is twenty-four weeks pregnant or less and has the opinion of two doctors who think the procedure would be less onerous on the woman’s physical or mental health than carrying the baby to term.