Pro-life students uphold their values against 'reproductive justice' platform at Catholic university
Grace Shallal, President of Loyola for Life, spoke with Campus Reform about the importance of fighting for Catholic values, especially at a Catholic university.
Shallal criticized the non-registered group Students for Reproductive Justice, which hands out free condoms to students every Friday, which is against the Catholic church.
Loyola for Life, a pro-life group on Loyola University Chicago’s campus, is fighting to uphold the school’s Jesuit identity over the unrecognized student group Students for Reproductive Justice (SRJ).
SRJ is a non-registered student group founded back in 2016. On most Fridays, members of the “non-registered student organization” hand out free condoms to other students, reports the Loyola Phoenix, the university’s student newspaper.
In response, Loyola for Life members decided to hand out crisis pregnancy center pamphlets alongside members of SRJ during “Free Condom Fridays.”
[RELATED: 5 times pro-life advocates fought for their beliefs on campus in 2021]
Campus Reform spoke with Loyola for Life President Grace Shallal, who explained the importance of fighting for Catholic values within a Catholic university.
“Loyola is a Catholic University. Since no one has ever protested it before, we didn’t want the school to think that all of their students agreed with what SRJ was doing,” Shallal told Campus Reform.
Shallal also spoke against SRJ’s activities, which she characterized as having the potential to pressure students into partaking in sexual activity.
“We simply wanted to be a voice of opposition not only for the school, but also for those who may feel pressured by what SRJ is doing. Imagine someone’s not sexually active, yet there is a group screaming on a street corner yelling ‘wrap your meat’ and other phrases,” she said. “That could make someone feel like something is wrong with them, or even feel pressured into thinking that they’re supposed to be having sex.”
Likewise, Emily Torres, vice president of Loyola for Life, criticized the message behind “Free Condom Fridays.”
“It doesn’t just give students access to condoms, but it encourages students and it may even pressure some to take free condoms,” Torres said.
Torres added, “In a culture where casual sex is glorified and religious values are scorned, it is extremely important for Catholics to stick together and stand up for their ideology. At the end of the day, Catholic values come down to loving God and loving our neighbor; we only want the best for others.”
Campus Reform reached out to Loyola University Chicago and Students for Reproductive Justice for comment; this article will be updated accordingly.
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