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Executives at Wellesley for Life (WFL) announced their organization through a post on the Wellesley College Class of 2025 Facebook group on Friday, September 10, just over a week ahead of the College’s 2021 Organizational Fair. However, according to the article’s creator, Grace Park ’24, the anti-abortion group received negative reactions in the comments section, particularly regarding its timeline just a week after the passage of Senate Bill 8. in Texas, which effectively banned abortions in the state. .
WFL is fairly new to campus; On November 23, 2020, the group’s Facebook page announced its approval to be an official student organization of Wellesley College, stating, “We are so proud to be part of a community that welcomes and embraces a diversity of perspectives.”
In the past, the organization has hosted guest speakers like Abigail Young, who is the Regional New English Coordinator for Students for Life in America and invited anyone to attend meetings or join the organization itself, which whatever its position on abortion. The two presidents, Grace Park ’24 and Lizzie Um ’23, declined to be interviewed for the article, citing the recent creation of the organization. However, many members of the Wellesley community do not see the organization as welcoming. Sophia Meier ’22, one of the first to comment on the WFL post on September 10, spoke about how she felt when she first heard about the group’s existence in the fall. 2020.
“I was… shocked and so surprised that we have a group like this on this campus, because everyone I met here was fiercely pro-abortion,” Meier said.
Likewise, another student and commentator Linh Dieu ’25 reacted with “disheartened” feelings. While God respected the “open[ness] to the conversation, ”she identified a concern.
“I’m concerned that the organization’s presence on campus, especially bringing in speakers for their seminars,… mentioned.
Alexandra Brooks ’23, another commentator who identified this concern, described her feeling of “outrage” when she saw the group’s Facebook post.
“The fact that [WFL] is allowed to exist on this campus is incredibly dangerous… for a lot of Wellesley students… because [WFL]The purpose of the organization as an organization, just like the pro-life movement, is to control and monitor the bodies of others, no matter how many floral designs you create, ”said Brooks.
The abortion debate has been controversial in US politics since the Supreme Court issued its landmark ruling for Roe v. Wade in 1973.
Derived from the Quickening doctrine, abortion was a common practice and completely legal at all times before fetal movement was felt by the pregnant person. All abortions performed after this period (called “acceleration”) were simply considered crimes.
Most abortions and other medical practices related to pregnancy have been performed by midwives, thus completely eliminating the doctors (men) from the field. In an attempt to gain absolute authority in the medical field over competing healers, doctors began to push for anti-abortion laws, which were enacted in every state in 1900.
The anti-abortion movement quickly caught the attention of small groups of Catholics, but with the law on their side, there was no longer much incentive to attract newcomers to the crusade.
Although the anti-abortion movement was not founded on a religious ideology, it quickly became synonymous with more fundamentalist sects of Christianity. The Consequences of Roe v. Wade reinforced that bond, as the faces of the newly renamed pro-life movement were those of Christian leaders, including the ruling Catholic Pope, Pope John Paul II.
Today the debate continues to revolve around religious lines, which, as Meier said, “play with this line of religious freedom … There are many religions where abortion is acceptable.”
Even in light of such a polarizing issue, each commentator underscored their commitment to respecting the beliefs of everyone in the community. But at the end of the day, they still felt the need to speak out, as God explained, she feels she has to persist in responding to the movement.
“I must continue to defend my rights as a human being, as a person who depends on reproductive health care, as a person who could get pregnant and as a person who may need such services at home. future… not only for me, but for the people I care about and those around me, ”said God.
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