Johns Hopkins Approves Student Pro-Life Group

Religion Today | Updated: Apr 22, 2013

Johns Hopkins Approves Student Pro-Life Group

Johns Hopkins University reversed course on its stance against a student pro-life group, granting the organization full recognition late Tuesday, WORLD Magazine reports. The student judiciary unanimously overturned an earlier decision by the student senate to deny Voice for Life (VFL) recognition because its planned activities included sidewalk counseling outside abortion facilities. According to the minutes from the March 12 meeting, members of the senate said they feared the group would “make people uncomfortable.” In a letter protesting the decision, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education warned the school it was on shaky legal ground: “The viewpoint-based rejection of VFL in this case contradicts the principles established by the Supreme Court when it held that public universities are required to grant expressive student organizations recognition and access to the funding of student activities on a viewpoint-neutral basis." Johns Hopkins is a private university, not bound by First Amendment protections, but the school pledges to protect the free exchange of ideas on campus.



Johns Hopkins Approves Student Pro-Life Group