Letter to the Editor: Crosses placed by Students for Life create shame

This is our Letter to the Editor of the University News in this weeks paper:

In “celebration” of Respect Life Month, SLU Students for Life has kindly turned our quad in to a graveyard. The Cemetery of the Innocents is a yearly display of wooden crosses, each of which signify a certain number of abortions performed daily. This year the crosses are decorated with colored ribbons which represent the country in which the abortions are performed and proportionally represent pregnancy terminations by nationality. The cemetery, however, is an intentionally misleading display and an incomplete homage to Respect Life Month.

The question of terminating a pregnancy has never been, and never will be, simple enough to carve out of wood. When a woman finds it necessary to make a decision that will profoundly affect her future, she is confronted with more complicated questions than whether she wants children. Resources, timing, those she is dependent upon and those dependent upon her are all substantial and emotional variables that affect her choice. Simplifying this heartbreaking process into a morbid display of loss is ignorant and cruel. Instead of enlightening SLU students on the reality of abortions, the cemetery serves to shame those who have made a very difficult decision.

Similarly, the cemetery is an inadequate tribute to what Respect Life Month should represent. By focusing only on abortion and ignoring the millions of people that die for unjust reasons, Students for Life has created a hierarchy of worthiness. Those who claim to fight for life should be concerned with the causalities of war, capital punishment, starvation and disease, among other things. The cemetery promotes the belief that life is only worth protecting in the womb. Post birth, death begins to lose its sadness.

Next year, Students for Life should hold themselves to a higher standard, one that respects the lives of the women that were forced to make these decisions and one that encompasses the varied and complex instances of loss.

- Written by B*llikens for Choice.

Make sure your voices are heard on this. Feel free to comment on the actual article here:

http://www.unewsonline.com/2011/10/13/letter-to-the-editor-crosses-placed-by-students-for-life-create-shame/

We're Back!!!

It’s time to get the ball rolling again, folks, and B*llikens for Choice is officially back in action!

We haven’t updated in a while, so let’s refresh your memories about who we are and what we do.

Our mission statement:

B*llikens for Choice is a group of Saint Louis University** students who are pro-choice, pro-reproductive justice, and pro-sexual health. We support everyone’s right to make independent choice about their body and their sexuality, including (but not limited to): the choice to have sex, to remain abstinent, to use contraception, to have an abortion, to become a parent and to express their sexuality in whatever ways they choose to express it. We believe that people deserve information about and access to all available options in order to make safe, informed and independent decisions. As such, B*llikens for Choice believes SLU has fallen short by not providing its students adequate information on sexual health, birth control or pregnancy services. SLU is a Jesuit institution founded on the principle that “serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical and spiritual understanding.” We believe that active discourse around sexual health and reproductive choice fulfills this mission, and that pro-choice students must be integral participants in this discussion.

**Please note, B*llikens for Choice is a financially and ideologically independent collective of individual, independent students. Any views expressed in this blog are the views of the individual, and do not imply endorsement or support by Saint Louis University or the Society of Jesus. 

There’s the “who.” As for the what, we’re gearing up for another year of promoting informed decision and educated choice on SLU’s campus. We’re here to provide you with information about sexual health and safe sex upon request, and we’ll be happy to serve as a resource for you any way we can. Please keep in mind, however, that we are not trained professionals. We are just students who encourage wise choices when it comes to sex and sexuality. If we do not feel we can assist you in the best way you can be assisted, we can direct you to one of many wonderful organizations who can. Don’t be afraid to contact us with any questions, comments, or concerns!

Also, condoms. The Condom Fairy is back in business and is ready to fulfill your condom wishes! To receive three, free condoms and some nifty information, send your MSC box number to prochoiceslu@gmail.com. The Fairy will get those to you ASAP, so keep an eye out!

And feel free to send us an email if you’d like to get involved with B*llikens for Choice or have suggestions for things you would like to see us do or post about. We’d love to get your feedback.

Be sure to check this blog for useful information about the cause and about upcoming events and activities in the future. Feel free to also follow us on Twitter (@ProChoiceSLUe) and Like us on Facebook!

Text Your Sex Questions!

Check out the site. Scarleteen.

Its a great resource to answer any and all your sex questions.

Tour the anatomy of the vagina, read the 10 Reasons to Wear a Condom You Might Not Have Heard, and text any sex question to 66746 keyword ASKST!

Protect Respect

Please watch this video.

Catherine's Story

Catholic, Pro-choice and Proud

"Before, I didn't realize that the position of the Catholic Church on abortion is not canon law: as a Catholic, it's completely within my rights to disagree with the church's position on that issue, and several Catholic theologians do. Religious pro-choice groups are incredible sources that helped me reconcile whatever struggle I had between my faith and my pro-choice views."

Read all of Catherine's story here.

Here at B*llikens for Choice, we are not trying to radically change your views on the church, your faith, or abortion.  We are advocating for a dialogue on the issues. Nothing is black and white.  Catholic does not necessarily have to mean anti-choice.

If you have any questions, comments, or would like to further discuss the issue with us please email us at prochoiceslu@gmail.com.  We would be more than happy to talk!

The CONDOM FAIRY IS HERE!!!

A key part of reproductive justice is prevention! Specifically, condoms reduce unintended pregnancies and the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infection. As part of the Great American Condom Campaign, B*llikens for Choice is having a condom giveaway just for SLU students! That's right--we're giving away free condoms! How can you get your hands on the goods?

• Email prochoiceslu@gmail.com with your MSC/SLU mailbox number (no name necessary) and we will deliver a pack of 3 lubricated Trojans in a discreet package in 2 days or less at no cost to you!
• Leave a comment on our facebook wall about why you are pro-choice and get a pack of 5 condoms!

Most universities provide free condoms year-round to their students in recognition of the important role they play in preventing STDs and unplanned pregnancies. Like many other Catholic schools, SLU has chosen not to make the sexual health of their students a priority. It's no surprise then that women at Catholic universities are more likely to have abortions than women at public colleges. Questions about the condom campaign? Leave a comment or email us for more information!

What does it mean to be Catholic and Pro-Choice?

Many people of faith struggle to reconcile their church's teachings with their own personal convictions about reproductive health. When it comes to the Vatican’s teachings on a woman's right to choose, Catholics around the world stand well apart from the hierarchy. You are not alone!

• -Barely a fifth (22%) of Catholics in the U.S. agree with the bishops that abortion should be completely illegal
• -Catholic women in the U.S. have abortions at the same rate as women in the population as a whole.
• -Majorities of Catholics in Bolivia (66%), Colombia (54%) and Mexico (69%) feel abortion should be  permitted under some or all circumstances. 
• -In Italy, which is 97% Catholic, 74% favor the use of RU-486

So what do these numbers mean? Below is are excerpts from a statement by Catholics for Choice on what it means to be Pro-Choice and Catholic--and why it is important (read full statement here).

"We strive to be an expression of Catholicism as it is lived by ordinary people. We are part of the great majority of the faithful in the Catholic church who disagree with the dictates of the Vatican on matters related to sexuality, contraception and abortion.

In all parts of the world, women, men and their families suffer and some die because they lack the resources to plan their families and the comprehensive information and education to keep themselves safe and healthy. The Catholic hierarchy’s role in influencing public policy affects everyone—Catholic and non-Catholic—by limiting the availability of reproductive health services worldwide. The Catholic hierarchy’s lobbying against contraception and abortion has disastrous effects on women’s lives both in the United States and abroad and especially on the lives of poor women.

We believe in a world where every woman and man has access to quality and choice in contraception. Wherever possible, we believe in working to reduce the incidence of unplanned and unwanted pregnancy and that society and individuals should strive to give women and men real choices."

"Even in a predominantly Catholic country, laws governing access to abortion need not adhere to the official Catholic position. The Second Vatican Council’s Declaration on Religious Freedom reinforced the call for Catholics to respect the positions of people of other faiths. This is particularly significant given that the Catholic church’s positions on health policies, including abortion, is more conservative than that of other major faith groups."

"We affirm that the moral capacity and the human right to make choices about whether and when to become pregnant or to end a pregnancy are supported by church teachings. We believe that people should be empowered and given support to exercise their rights and responsibilities. We believe that women have a right to choose."

There are many resources out there for pro-choice people of faith.  Remember--being pro-choice does not necessarily mean agreeing with abortion in and of itself, but rather giving women the legal option to choose what is right for themselves and to control their own reproduction.

• Catholics for Choice
• Spiritual Youth for Reproductive Freedom
• Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice
  
• Disciples for Choice
• Presbyterians Affirming Reproductive Options