After years of embracing Planned Parenthood, the Catholic institution DePaul University has finally disbanded its Planned Parenthood student group.
KEY TAKEAWAYS:
- Despite the Catholic Church being an outspoken opponent of abortion, DePaul University, a Catholic institution, has frequently embraced pro-abortion groups in the past.
- Student abortion advocates are protesting the disbanding of the Planned Parenthood student chapter.
- The student group promoted Planned Parenthood’s political action and also directly raised funds for an area abortion provider. They also actively opposed the campus policy against distributing contraceptives.
THE DETAILS:
A Planned Parenthood Generation Action chapter at DePaul University will no longer be allowed to operate; according to the group, it was disbanded due to a decision from the university, not by their own choice.
A DePaul spokesman told the Chicago Sun-Times that student groups cannot be allowed to affiliate with groups “whose core missions are in direct conflict with the values and teachings of the Catholic Church. Planned Parenthood falls into this category.”
The Catholic Church is, and always has been, ardently pro-life.
Students affiliated with the Planned Parenthood group tried to claim they were only working with Planned Parenthood Action, which does not commit abortions. But Planned Parenthood Action is the political arm of the abortion chain, with the mission of expanding access to abortion and keeping it legal. In addition, the group’s Instagram page shows that it raised funds through a Charity Ball to support the Ryan Center, which the group said is “currently the only hospital based abortion provider on Chicago’s south side.”
Clearly, the group’s political activism as well as its financial efforts directly supporting an abortion facility are in violation of the teachings of the Catholic Church.
The group can be reinstated but must no longer affiliate with Planned Parenthood or any other abortion organization.
The group’s Instagram page advertised an “emergency town hall” meeting that was set to take place on June 13 protesting the disbanding of the group:
View this post on Instagram
THE BACKSTORY:
This is not the first time DePaul has faced trouble regarding abortion.
Though it is disbanding the Planned Parenthood group, it has embraced abortion in the past, as well as Planned Parenthood itself. Here are just a few examples:
2013: DePaul refused to discipline pro-abortion activists who vandalized a display memorializing preborn children killed in abortion. When the pro-life group released the names of the vandals, DePaul punished the pro-life group instead.
2015: DePaul encouraged students to volunteer with Planned Parenthood.
2024: DePaul hosted a “Catholics for Choice” panel, and refused to let pro-life students hang up posters saying “Unborn Lives Matter.”
THE BOTTOM LINE:
The Catholic Church has always made its position on abortion and other pro-life issues clear. As the largest Catholic university in the country, DePaul should be upholding Catholic teaching, and in the past, it has not.
Hopefully, this is a sign that a new pro-life atmosphere will be embraced on campus.
