Catholic university boots Planned Parenthood student group
DePaul University administrators have disbanded a student group associated with Planned Parenthood for conflicting with the school’s Catholic identity.
As part of the cancellation, the group lost its access to funding and university reservation privileges.
DePaul University administrators have disbanded a student group associated with Planned Parenthood for conflicting with the school’s Catholic identity.
As part of the cancellation, the group lost its access to funding and university reservation privileges.
Planned Parenthood Generation Action is a national organization with over 350 affiliates on campuses across the country; the university’s June 3 decision axed the affiliate chapter.
The chapter posted a message from the school on its Instagram page on Tuesday.
“In alignment with DePaul’s Catholic and Vicentian identity, PPGA’s student organization constitution is no longer approved and PPGA’s status as a registered organization at DePaul is de-activated due to its affiliation with the external group Planned Parenthood,” the message reads.
DePaul University is a Catholic school run by the Congregation of the Mission founded by St. Vincent de Paul.
The student organization announced in the same post that it is hosting a town hall meeting on Friday to determine future actions.
“We are not going anywhere and we will continue to be a community, but we need as much input and support as possible to determine how we want to continue our operations,” the post says.
The university again emphasized that it disbanded the student group because of its connections to Planned Parenthood.
“DePaul does not permit registered student organizations to have formal affiliations or partnerships with external groups whose core missions are in direct conflict with the values and teachings of the Catholic Church. Planned Parenthood falls into this category. We remain committed to supporting student-led dialogue on important issues, including reproductive health,” the university said, according to Fox News reporting.
One of the group’s primary activities is promoting contraception. Through funds provided by Planned Parenthood, the group offers free contraception like condoms and Plan B pills at a site off campus.
On its LinkTree page, the group includes an Abortion Policy map run by the Guttmacher Institute and its petition calling on the university to allow the distribution of contraception on campus. The Catholic Church teaches that the use of contraception is “intrinsically wrong.”
Additionally, the group hosted an event earlier this month called “PillowTalk: BDSM Sex Ed.” BDSM is an acronym for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.”
Campus Reform contacted DePaul University and the student group for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.