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BRANDON, Manitoba, September 10, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A pro-life club at Brandon University has been granted full club status after navigating an opposed bureaucracy for an entire year and finally having to bring in a lawyer.

“It's been a long, frustrating year so we're glad to finally have official club status,” said Catherine Dubois, President of Brandon Students for Life, in a press release.

“It has taken a lot of work to get us here, but we are thrilled at the opportunity to spread the pro-life message on campus.” 

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The pro-life students already have big plans for the current semester. “We are extremely excited to be ratified and to be able to really engage, connect with, and educate our peers,” said Dubois.

When Dubois looked into obtaining club status last August, she was flatly told that the student union would not approve a pro-life club because of the controversy it might cause on campus. 

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Despite this, the pro-life students filed for status in January of this year. They received a rejection notice in February, which cited conflicts between the union's bylaws and the club's constitution. 

Not to be so easily deterred, the students modified their constitution and resubmitted their club application in March. In April, the student union informed the pro-lifers that it would defer the decision on whether or not to grant status till next year's council, thus preventing the club from having status on campus for an entire year. 

In response the students brought in a lawyer to fight on their behalf. 

Lawyer John Carpay, President of the Justice Centre for Constitutional Freedoms, told the student union to expect legal action if club status continued to be denied. 

“It is illegal for a student union to deny club status on the basis of the club’s beliefs, opinions, or philosophy,” said Carpay. 

“All students are required to pay dues to the student union, and all students enjoy the same right to start the club of their choice.” 

The student union communicated its decision to Carpay last month that the pro-life club had been granted status. 

Carpay said that he was pleased that the situation at Brandon U was resolved “without needing to go to court”. 

Anastasia Pearse, Western Campus Coordinator for the National Campus Life Network, applauded the student union’s decision. 

“Getting club status should not require an entire year or lawyers,” she said, adding that the “club should never have had to go through this lengthy process in the first place.”