WATCH: Student government candidate says pro-life classmates 'should've been aborted'

With University of Houston Student Government Association elections occurring today, one candidate was caught on camera making disparaging comments against pro-life students.

The video, obtained by Campus Reform, resurfaced from a pro-choice rally held on campus during the fall 2021 semester. In the video, Sameer K. Abdulmajeed addressed pro-life students who were in attendance by stating they “should have been aborted.”

”I don’t know why they took the time out of their day to come here, f*** around with us, but you know... they should have been aborted,” Abdulmajeed said. 

According to Abdulmajeed, the video was taken out of context. 

In response to Campus Reform’s request for comment, Abdulmajeed explained the rally was organized to counter the Texas Heartbeat Act that went into effect on Sept. 1. 

Abdulmajeed recalled that while protesters shared their abortion stories and expressed disdain for the legislation, “2-3 guys [tried] to downplay these situations.”

”They were harassing people and trying to pull the megaphone out of someone’s hand after being told they couldn’t speak,” he explained. “So I wanted to tell them off.”

College Republican President Elliot Carter, who attended the rally, delivered a different story.

”That’s a total, blatant lie,” Carter accused. “He was talking about pro-lifers, [that] the pro-life group... should be aborted. He’s trying to say that to save himself.”

Carter doubled down on the comment, addressing that it was inappropriate regardless of intent.

”I was very disappointed, honestly, for somebody who’s trying to run for elected position to our student body to tell the same students that, basically, they should go die,” he said.

Carter continued, stating, “Even the fact that he would tell three students to go and die is pretty disheartening, to say the least.”

[RELATED: ‘Thank abortion providers’ during ‘Sex Week,’ student group tells classmates]

Abdulmajeed told Campus Reform that the jab was intended to be a joke targeted to the offending students and was meant to “lighten the mood,” rather than be taken seriously.

”I personally believe I went too far there, and I shouldn’t have,” he admitted. 

In response, Abdulmajeed issued a full apology and accepted full responsibility.

”In response to the video, I apologize for saying what I did, it was an impulsive decision and I immediately felt bad about it after saying it,” he stated. “I accept full responsibility for what I said.”

Abdulmajeed is currently running for Student Government Association as a member of Conscious Coogs party. The election for the 2022-2023 session, which occurs over multiple days, ends Mar. 4.

According to Carter, the Conscious Coogs ticket thrives on a progressive agenda.

”The whole party’s platform is the idea that they’re the fairly progressive party on campus, endorsed by the UH Democrats, and that they’re gonna put in extremely progressive policies that are not reflective of the whole,” he stated.

Young Conservatives of Texas President Mike Moore shared with Campus Reform his concerns that progressive partisanship in SGA bars representation of the entire student body.

”The student government is supposed to serve the entire student body, and when you have an individual that wants to be a member of the Senate, the Senate that makes important decisions on how student fees are spent,” Moore explained. “It sends a message that Sameer and others like him will only represent the study body that agrees with them.”

This observation is not a concern for Abdulmajeed, who told Campus Reform that partisan representation is not as important as “LGBT” and “minority” representation. 

[RELATED: 5 times pro-life advocates fought for their beliefs on campus in 2021]

”We’re majority progressive university in Houston, one of the most progressive cities. [H]aving conservative representation, especially when some of it is directly harmful to some students, is counterproductive,” he explained. 

According to Abdulmajeed, “conservative” refers to “people who are homophobic, transphobic, xenophobic, etc.”

”I know that the other party is arguing we need both sides, but I for one do not like the idea that having backwards ideals is considered diversity in thought,” he concluded. “Look at the current US Senate, it’s so split they never get anything done.”

Carter agreed with this sentiment to an extent, telling Campus Reform that while he agrees that partisanship should not be a factor in student government, there is a difference between his philosophy and the philosophy of Abdulmajeed.

”The far left, liberal side of campus... they obviously have this vision of what student government should be, how being a public servant should be. When faced with confrontation, they always seem to flip the story a little bit,” Carter stated. “I would implore Sameer, as well as the rest of the Conscious Coogs, to look inside their heart and their moral compass and realize what they’re doing is wrong.” 

The University of Houston has become a hotspot for progressive partisanship within the student government. Campus Reform previously reported on an SGA-sponsored rally that opposed a transgender bill that mandated public school athletes compete according to their biological sex.

Additionally, the SGA underwent a recall election saga last semester that left 17 senators suspended for violating campus election policies. The recall attempted to oust President Arsalan Darbin from his position due to allegations of transphobia and homophobia that had “no proof in writing.” 

Instead, opponents asked voters to “take them as their word.”

Campus Reform contacted the University of Houston for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.

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