10,000 Austrian university students sign petition to stop forcing them to fund abortions

Over 10,000 university students in Austria have signed a petition to protest a program requiring students to fund the abortions of other students.

Key Takeaways:

• The Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH) administers a "Repro Fund" paying for abortion using student funds.

• The fund pays for abortion procedures and abortion-related travel for students.

• Over 10,000 Austrian students have signed a petition calling for the fund to be abolished.

The Backstory:

The Austrian National Union of Students (ÖH) runs a Repro Fund, available to all Austrian university students who are up to date on their student union fees. Students seeking an abortion submit an application, and once approved, ÖH sends money directly to abortion facilities and pays for travel expenses, so students don't have to pay for anything related to the abortion.

Austrian students do not have the option not to contribute to ÖH; it is mandatory in order to enroll in university. If students do not pay the fee, they lose their official student status; this means they cannot attend classes and lose their student accident insurance as well.

Students are forced to fund abortion whether they want to or not.

The Details:

EWTN reported that over 10,000 Austrian students have signed a petition, “No Student Funds for Killing Human Beings,” calling for an end to student-funded abortion. Rather than funding abortion, the petition argued, ÖH should provide support to pregnant students, allowing them to keep their babies while continuing their college education with resources like "expanded childcare, financial assistance, and psychosocial support."

Maria Czernin, president of ProLife Europe, told EWTN News the response to the petition was far more enthusiastic than expected.

“For a three-month petition in Austria, this is a very strong result. People here tend to be more reserved in public campaigns, so reaching more than 10,000 signatures is significant," she said, adding, “We encountered students who were not pro-life, but they still felt that their money should not be used for this. That says a lot about how controversial this program is.”

The Bottom Line:

Even those who generally support abortion do not want to see their taxpayer dollars being used to pay for it. Fifty-four percent (54%) of Americans oppose taxpayer funding for abortions domestically, and 69% oppose using taxpayer funds for overseas abortions.