Pro-life student group likened to alleged ‘hate group’

by Ben Johnson

WASHINGTON, D.C., April 1, 2013 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A student pro-life group has been silenced on the campus of Johns Hopkins University – one of the nation's leading medical schools – after being likened to an alleged “hate group.”

The JHU student senate rejected Voice for Life's application to become an officially recognized student group during meetings on March 12 and March 26.

According to Students for Life, officials with the Student Government Association (SGA) said the group's history of writing pro-life messages on sidewalks in chalk “clearly violates the JHU Harassment and Code of Conduct policies.”

One student senator stated, “We have the right to protect our students from things that are uncomfortable.”

SGA instead approved the application of Students for Justice in Palestine at the same meeting.

A meticulous member noted that VFL's website links to the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, famous for its depiction of aborted babies.

The group's website also links to approximately 99 other organizations.

Not content with such strained links, some of VFL's opponents drew even less warranted comparisons.

Students for Life reports that a “top SGA executive member” sent a simple statement to the e-mail list, saying, “And this is why we don’t approve groups like Voice for Life.”

It included a link to an article about the White Student Union at Towson University, implying that VFL is a hate group like this allegedly racist organization.

A review hearing is scheduled with the SGA Judiciary Committee for April 9.

Towson, located in the Baltimore area, does not officially recognize the White Student Union. However, the Southern Poverty Law Center lists the organization as a “hate group.”

The SPLC also lists many pro-life organizations, including the Family Research Council and the Traditional Values Coalition, as “hate groups.”