Pro-Life, Catholic Advocates Complain About Michelle Obama Speech at Villanova 
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 14, 2008
Philadelphia, PA (LifeNews.com) — Another Catholic college is getting tagged by pro-life advocates for hosting a pro-abortion speaker — this time Villanova University for a Thursday appearance by Michelle Obama. The wife of pro-abortion presidential candidate Barack Obama spoke before 2,500 people at a political rally for him at Villanova’s Jake Nevin Fieldhouse.
Senator Obama’s pro-abortion views are well-established and he favors keeping abortions legal another 35 years and paid for with taxpayer dollars.
Michelle Obama, also an abortion advocate, endorsed partial-birth abortion in a 2004 fundraising letter for her husband.
Kristan Hawkins, the director of Students for Life of America, alerted LifeNews.com to the appearance and said it violates the pro-life and Catholic views of Villanova students.
“It is disheartening to see a Catholic university allow someone who strongly believes in partial-birth abortion, a procedure which our Supreme Court even ruled to be barbaric and cruel, come to their campus to speak," Hawkins said.
The pro-life student leader told LifeNews.com she spoke with Villanova’s president who informed her that student groups, which invited Obama, are independent and Villanova officials can’t control their activities.
But Hawkins says the use of the building is an administrative issue and the school should always have final say in bring speakers to campus.
"By allowing her to speak President Donohue is signaling to his students that it is okay to support someone who advocates the destruction of the weakest among us," she said.
The Cardinal Newman Society, a top Catholic school watchdog, also told LifeNews.com it has grave concerns about the event.
“The Obamas’ record on abortion is clear and unequivocal," CNS representative Joseph Esposito said. "We are disappointed with Villanova University. For a Catholic university to provide a platform for a pro-abortion figure in the midst of a political campaign is simply wrong.”
He called on pro-life Catholics to contact Villanova officials and express their disappointment.
“It is important to let Catholic college leaders know that such disregard for Catholic Church teachings is morally wrong and ultimately impugns the Catholic mission and integrity of the institution," he told LifeNews.com.
This isn’t the first time a Catholic college has given Obama a platform to promote his pro-abortion candidacy.
In January, Senator Obama appeared at a huge rally on the campus on Saint Peter’s College, a Jesuit institution in Jersey City, New Jersey.
Senator Hillary Clinton appeared at St. Norbert’s College in Wisconsin and St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, Texas in February.
ACTION: Father Donohue, the president of Villanova University, can be reached at [email protected]. Please let him know you oppose Obama’s visit.
Related web sites:
Students for Life of America – https://www.studentsforlife.org
Cardinal Newman Society – https://www.cardinalnewmansociety.org
