KINGSTON, November 26, 2004, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Last week, LifeSiteNews.com reported that a complaint brought by Queen’s University pro-life student Dennis Crawford had been rejected by the University’s Judicial Committee. Crawford asserted that the AMS was in violation of its anti-discrimination policy by forcing religious students at Queens to pay a fee to support abortion-related services on campus.
Crawford’s argument, that the university’s charter protects students from religious discrimination, was rejected by the Committee on the grounds that exempting religious students from the fee would itself be unfair discrimination. Now the Queen’s Human Rights Office has ruled that forcing religious students to pay for a pro-abortion campus organization is discriminatory. Crawford sent an email to Western Standard writer, Adam Daifallah, saying, “The HRO actually agreed with me and told the AMS that they have a ‘duty to accommodate’ students of faith.” The AMS will be required on request to redirect the .85 cent fee to other recipients. Crawford said this was a “huge victory” for pro-life students at Queens. Stephanie Simson of the Queen’s Human Rights Office told LifeSiteNews.com that while she could not comment on a specific case, the university recognizes that people can be adversely affected by rules that appear neutral. Simpson said that, as a general rule, Queens University protects the religious freedoms of its students. A glance at the Queen’s “Sexual Health Resource Centre” (SHRC) website reveals that its support of the abortion ‘option’ is not the only thing to which Christian, Jewish and Muslim students could object. The website says the SHRC sells “sex toys” and “non-prescription safer sex products at cost,” and the events calendar page offered a “sex toy workshop.”
The site says, “Our library covers a wide range of topics including sexually transmitted infections, abstinence, contraception, pregnancy, erotic fiction, queer, gay, lesbian, trans, and healthy relationships.” Publicly financed university education now appears to cover a much wider range of subjects than most Canadians would expect or approve. Previous LifeSiteNews.com coverage: https://www.lifesitenews.com/ldn/2004/nov/04110810.html hw