McGill activists shut down ‘Choose Life’

Jane Kirby — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 18:57:10 +0000

[Audio: http://www.radio4all.net/files/david@ckdu.ca/3412-1-owu_sarah_woolf.mp3]
Listen here (32:00)

October 30, 2009
by Jane Kirby

HALIFAX – On October 5th, pro-choice activists at McGill university shut down a presentation hosted by the student society Choose Life entitled “Echoes of the Holocaust”. The talk, given by Jose Ruba of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, compares abortion to genocide and has been deemed sexist and racist hate speech by activists at universities across the country.

The presentation was censured by the McGill Student Union, and was rumoured to have been cancelled, but went forward at the last minute. The presentation was met with protest with pro-choice activists, who blocked the projector, sang and chanted to prevent the lecture from taking place. Security and police were called in, and two protesters were given summary convictions for mischief. McGill University has expressed their support for rescheduling the event.

In this episode of Operation Wake Up!, News Collective Host Jane Kirby interviewed pro-choice advocate and McGill Student Union Councillor Sarah Woolf about Choose Life and Echoes of the Holocaust, the events leading up to the shutdown and the response to the controversy on the McGill campus.

Local feminist activist responds to criticisms of shutdown of anti-choice event

Jane Kirby — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 18:31:32 +0000

On February 4th 2009, at least a dozen women and their allies shut down an event at Saint Mary’s University in Halifax entitled “Echoes of the Holocaust”, forcing its relocation to a church off campus. The talk, given by Jose Ruba of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform, was part of the Genocide Awareness Project, which compares abortion to the Holocaust and the treatment of African Americans before the Civil Rights Movement and has been consistently denounced as hate speech. Despite the numerous phone calls and emails received by the administration denouncing the talk in the preceding days, the University decided to allow the talk to proceed. Protesters then took matters into their own hands, chanting and yelling to prevent the sexist and racist lecture from taking place.

Local feminist activist Holly Taylor responds to criticisms of the shutdown, reflecting on hate speech VS free speech, similar struggles on university campuses across the country and on continued struggles against sexism and for reproductive rights.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Operation Wake Up! » Women’s Centre

McGill activists shut down ‘Choose Life’

Local feminist activist responds to criticisms of shutdown of anti-choice event