Planned Parenthood CEO Speech at Catholic Georgetown Splits Students, Draws Fire

By Dustin Siggins Published on April 6, 2016

A Georgetown student group’s invitation to have Planned Parenthood CEO Cecile Richards speak at the Catholic university is causing a schism among students — and drawn condemnation from leading Catholics.

In March, The Lecture Fund invited Richards to speak and answer questions in a student-only forum on April 20. Planned Parenthood is America’s largest abortion group, and has been the subject of numerous federal and state investigations into its alleged practice of profiting off of the sale of unborn baby parts. The Catholic Church condemns abortion as a moral evil that ends the life of unborn children.

In a Wednesday blog post, the Cardinal Newman Society (CNS) reported that the event is co-sponsored by Hoyas for Choice, the Georgetown University Democrats, and Medical Students for Choice.

Additionally, a source familiar with the controversy told The Stream that the student newspaper, The Georgetown Voice, is planning to publish an editorial defending the speech in light of Georgetown’s Catholic identity. That editorial will come approximately a week after the Archdiocese of Washington condemned Richards’ speech in a strongly-worded editorial of its own.

Spokespersons for The Georgetown Voice and the Archdiocese did not respond to a request for comment.

The source told The Stream that pro-life students plan to protest Richards’ planned April 20 speech, and the Archdiocese of Washington’s Cardinal Donald Weurl will hold a Mass for Life near Georgetown on April 21, and address Catholic identity and the Georgetown controversy.

The Archdiocese has not yet confirmed this, but it did condemn the invitation just days after it was discovered. “The apparent unawareness of those pushing the violence of abortion and the denigration of human dignity that there are other human values and issues … lends credence to the perception of the ‘ivory tower’ life of some on campus,” the Archdiocese commented. “The Jesuit community on campus clearly has its work cut out for it and a long way to go as it tries to instill at Georgetown some of the values of Pope Francis. Until then it is hard wholeheartedly to share in the cry, ‘Go Hoyas!’”

Cardinal Newman Society spokesperson Adam Wilson told The Stream that “Georgetown is betraying the students and Catholic families that entrusted them to what they thought was a Catholic institution.”

“Georgetown University thinks it knows better than the Catholic Church,” continued Wilson, whose group first broke the news of Richards’ speech. “More than 14,000 people have signed our petition opposing this speaking platform for Richards, under whose tenure over 2.8 million children have been killed. The University continually touts its status as America’s oldest Catholic university, but what does it do when it counts? Georgetown has an opportunity to show whether its Catholic identity is more than skin deep by rescinding the invitation to the president of Planned Parenthood.”

Wilson said that whoever formally invited Richards is irrelevant. “The ultimate responsibility falls on the University, which has final say about who can and cannot speak on campus.”

A university spokesperson told The Stream that Richards will not be reimbursed for any costs associated with her speech. The spokesperson declined to address the condemnation from Weurl and other Catholic leaders, as well as student opposition to Richards’ presence on campus, instead pointing The Stream to a statement released by the university in early March.

“We respect our students’ right to express their personal views and are committed to sustaining a forum for the free exchange of ideas,” said the statement, which noted that “student groups may invite any outside speakers and guests to campus. An appearance of any speaker or guest on campus is not an endorsement by the university.”

Like the university, student leaders of The Lecture Fund did not respond to several questions about the controversy. The Stream was directed to a statement on the group’s website that says “we extend invitations to any and all speakers, they accept or deny the invitation, and we plan accordingly.”

“The Lecture Fund will host Cecile Richards, President of Planned Parenthood Federation of America, in April. The event is not open to the public and only those with a Georgetown University ID will be allowed to attend. The event will consist of remarks, followed by a question and answer period.”

A Facebook page for the event does not describe the Catholic position against abortion and contraception or underscore the many tens of thousands of abortions Planned Parenthood performs every year. Nor does it make mention of the fact that abortion, abortifacients and contraceptives supplied by Planned Parenthood have been shown to raise the risk of many ailments, including cancer, blood clots and death.

The event page does provide a bio for Richards that claims the two Planned Parenthood organizations she heads “work for a healthier world for women and teens.

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