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February 2002
Contents: Growing even larger. We Need your help. Totally uncontroversial request. Events. Student LifeNet Conference 2002
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here for our press contact details Hi everyone, A special welcome to those of you who are new to Student LifeNet. The last few months have been busy and the next few look as though there won't be much difference, with prolife event after prolife event, so keep reading for all the latest student news and the plans for the next few months. Growing even larger. The opinion poll on our website asking if the public should be allowed to see the truth about abortion generated hundreds of votes and lots of interest with many students emailing to say that they had no idea that a political party had been censored. Thanks to those of you who forwarded the email, we reached a lot of new people and news of our poll even reached Canada! We will be closing the poll shortly and announcing the result so there is still time to forward it. In the meantime, we are pleased to be able to announce that there are plans to form new prolife groups at universities in Exeter, Durham, and Leeds. If you know anyone interested in prolife issues in these universities, (or indeed any other university) email slifenet@btinternet.com and we can put you in touch and help new groups set up. We need your help. A long time aim of Student LifeNet is to ensure that there is real support for pregnant students so that no student has to choose between her education and her unborn child. We have put together a questionnaire to find out what support is available in universities for students facing pregnancy or for student parents which we are circulating to universities. We need students from every university to come forward and help with this. It won't take long - if you are willing to help, get in touch and we can send you the questionnaire. All you need to do is send it to the appropriate person in your university and ensure that it is completed and returned to us. The questionnaire covers counselling, childcare, accommodation, funding and taking a leave of absence. With your help we can ensure that there is real support. Totally uncontroversial request. Have you emailed your MEP yet and asked them to sign the written declaration against discrimination of the disabled? The deadline is the end of February. Please take a few moments to drop your MEP a line and ask them to support a Europe that does not discriminate against the disabled but treats all its citizens as equal and precious. Declarations automatically become resolutions if signed by half of the European Parliament. If you have forgotten your MEPs email address, drop us a line and we can send it to you. Remember to forward any feedback you get to us so that we can lobby MEPs more effectively. Events On the 21st and 25th February - there will be a pro-life speakers course in Darwin college at the University of Kent, Canterbury from 7.00-8.30pm.The speaker is Caireen Piper, a Canadian pro-life activist, until last year ran pro-life group at Uni of British Columbia and was a youth rep for Campaign Life Coalition of Canada. The course consists of 'Pro-life 101'-defending pro-life arguments and 'Helping a friend through a crisis pregnancy'. For more information contact Piers Shepherd ps36@ukc.ac.uk. Plans for the SLN conference in Manchester on the 9th March are well underway, and irresistible flyers (which can be seen on our website) have been sent out to universities. If you want any flyers, email us. Spread the word and book your train ticket !! The conference itself is free and a great chance to meet students from all over the UK. Talks include: student unions, public speaking, student parenting: the other choice, counselling, and tips on how to run a student prolife group. If you are coming by train, go to Piccadilly Station, walk down Piccadilly Gardens, get the bus to the University of Manchster - (either the 42, 43, 142, 143 or others) get off at the Student Union - Avila House is opposite...on Oxford road. SPUC YOUTH AND STUDENT CONFERENCE: 8-10th March in Ross-on Wye, Herefordshire. Sessions will include: leading medical barrister Jamie Bogle on euthanasia in the light of the Diane Pretty case popular and impressive presenter Andrew Pollard on the under-population crisis British Victims of Abortion (BVA) on the effects of abortion on women how to answer the hard pro-life questions Total cost is £65 (includes all meals, accommodation and conference fees). For a booking form, or further information about the conference, please contact katherine.Hampton@btinternet.com, tel: 01892 542616. What can students do? These news stories appeared in the SPUC daily digest which you can receive if you send an email to info@spuc.org.uk and ask to be added to the list Two students in the Republic of Ireland are seeking to challenge the proposed constitutional amendment on abortion in the Irish High Court.Ms Johanna Morris, a law student, and Ms Sian Ní Mhaoldomhaigh, a postgraduate politics student, both at Trinity College Dublin, are seeking a judicial review of the referendum proposal. The students contend that, before the proposed amendment on abortion could be passed, article 46 of the constitution would also have to be changed.The article states that any variation or addition to the constitution should be included in the text of the constitution itself, but the proposed amendment on abortion refers to a separate Act of the Irish parliament which purports to possess constitutionally entrenched status. Mr Justice Finnegan, president of the Irish High Court, hasadjourned proceedings until next Monday to give time for the state to be represented. [The Irish Times, 17 January] It is reported that the Irish cabinet has been forced to delay its decision on when to hold the proposed referendum on abortion. Ministers had been due to make the decision today, but a legal challenge to the referendum by two students in Dublin has complicated matters. The Irish Independent newspaper conjectures that the referendum will now be held in March. [Irish Independent, 23 January] An American teenage model has won her campaign to be allowed to wear shirts bearing pro-life slogans at school after a law firm threatened to take the school to court for violating the constitution. Samantha Gallardo was denied permission by her high school in Littlerock, California, to wear clothes bearing messages such as "Abortion is killing" and "I'm Pro-Life". The pupil then approached the Thomas More Law Center in Michigan, which wrote to the school reminding the staff of Samantha's constitutional rights [of freedom of expression].Samantha makes the shirts and distributes them among other students.[EWTN News, 24 January] Do get in touch with any ideas however large and small and let's make Student LifeNet bigger and better. See you all in Manchester Fiorella |
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