Catholic Colleges Link Web Sites to Abortion Centers, Groups
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 17, 2006
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — Several Catholic colleges across the country are coming under fire from a Catholic watchdog group because their web sites are linking to pro-abortion groups and abortion businesses. Despite the Catholic Church’s clear opposition to abortion, the universities are referring students to abortion facilities and pro-abortion organizations for internships.
The Cardinal Newman Society conducted a review of Catholic university web sites and found several that had links and referrals to places like Planned Parenthood, the pro-abortion National Organization for Women, and NARAL.
Some of the violators include Boston College, DePaul University, Dominican University of California, Georgetown University, Loyola University of Chicago, Loyola University of New Orleans, Our Lady of the Lake University, Santa Clara University, Seton Hall University and the University of Detroit Mercy.
Another Catholic college, the College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, Minnesota, posts online information encouraging students to use abortifacient devices.
In a letter faxed Thursday to the presidents of these 11 institutions, CNS urged them to remove the Web links, referrals and information immediately.
“Leading young adults to abortion clinics and pro-abortion advocacy groups is like feeding them to the lions,” wrote CNS President Patrick Reilly to the college and university presidents.
“The incidence of abortion is already very high among college-age women," he added. "Faithful Catholics expect Catholic colleges and universities to embrace a ‘culture of life’ and avoid scandal.”
CNS identified the following problems at some of the college web sites:
* The Web page for the American Studies Program at Boston College offers “Useful Web Links,” including links to “The Abortion Rights Activist Home Page” (appears to be defunct), the “New York Clinic Defense Task Force,” the pro-abortion Feminist Majority Foundation, and the pro-abortion National Organization for Women.
* The Web page of the Women’s and Gender Studies Program at DePaul University offers students links for “Jobs, Internships, Volunteer Opportunities,” including a link to the pro-abortion Feminist Majority Foundation’s “career center.” The “center” lists jobs and internships at pro-abortion groups including NARAL, Catholics for a Free Choice, the National Abortion Federation, the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
* On the Web site of Dominican University of California, Professor of Psychology Gail Matthews has posted a list of “Field Placement Sites” for student internships, including Planned Parenthood of Marin County.
* The Web page of the Women’s Center at Georgetown University offers students a “Women’s Health Resource List” which refers students to local centers that perform abortions.
* The Web page for the Women’s Studies Program at Loyola University of Chicago refers students to the Planned Parenthood Federation of America. The program’s “Organizations” links include the pro-abortion Feminist Majority Foundation and the pro-abortion National Organization for Women.
* The Web page of the Women’s Resource Center at Loyola University of New Orleans links to pro-abortion “resources” including the Feminist Majority Foundation, the National Organization for Women and the National Women’s Law Center.
This is not the first time that CNS has raised concerns about Catholic college and university Web sites.
In December 2002, CNS reported that 12 Catholic colleges and universities were providing links and referrals to Planned Parenthood and other pro-abortion groups. All of the schools in that report removed the links and referrals except Loyola University of Chicago.
In the 2004 report “The Culture of Death on Catholic Campuses,” CNS again identified concerns with Catholic college and university Web sites, but several of those concerns have still not been resolved.
The nation’s Catholic bishops, in a document about pro-abortion politicians and communion, instructed Catholic colleges not to give a platform to pro-abortion elected officials. They also instructed universities to help build a pro-life culture.
Related web sites:
Cardinal Newman Society – https://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org
