There is an escalating “epidemic” of violence aimed at pro-life organizations on college campuses, according to Kristan Hawkins, president of Students for Life America.
Hawkins’ declaration came in the wake of a disturbing incident involving an out-of-control professor and students at Hunter College in New York City. On May 2, Students For Life hosted a table in a public space, offering literature on chemical abortions and the drugs’ harmful side effects.
Pro-life Students Face Opposition
The New York Post reported that Adjunct Professor Shellyne Rodriguez approached the students and cursed at them before swiping at the literature and throwing it to the ground. A cell phone video captured the incident.
Rodriguez, who used several expletives in her tirade, called the display “propaganda” and said it was triggering her students. When Patrick Rubi, a student at Hunter College, said, “I am sorry about that,” Rodriguez replied: “No you’re not. You can’t have a ****** baby! You don’t even know what that is. Get this **** out of here!”
The next day, when a New York Post reporter approached Rodriguez for comment at her home, she came to the door with a machete and held it to his neck for a brief time. After he and a cameraman left the building, she chased the men down the street with the machete. Rodriguez was subsequently fired by Hunter College.
“The New York Post story illustrates what the pro-life generation is dealing with on a daily basis”¦unhinged, unreasonable, and aggressive opposition to pro-life free speech, including from those in leadership at schools across the country,” said Hawkins.
In addition to being accosted by an angry professor, the Students for Life table at Hunter College also endured harassment from a female student, who stole one of their plastic fetal models and began to chew on it. Later, she returned the chewed-up model, which had been painted red.
“She colored them red and called us fascists,” said Rubi on Fox News.
Hawkins noted that events like this one are emblematic of an epidemic of attacks against pro-life students in the United States. In the past school year, there have been one-hundred discrimination and vandalization attempts against Students for Life leaders, she said.
Hawkins called the attacks a violation of free speech and constitutional rights. In regards to the Hunter College attack, Jordan Sekulow of the American Center for Law and Justice criticized how the university was slow to act initially.
“The college has rightly terminated the teacher, but even they didn’t act until AFTER she threatened to murder a reporter,” Sekulow wrote. “When she harassed and assaulted students, they seemingly turned their heads with a shrug. Even the teacher’s union feebly attempted to defend the professor’s violent actions.”
In today’s post-Roe world, college campuses have become increasingly hostile to pro-life organizations. This trend is, unfortunately, reflective of our society as a whole, where pregnancy resource centers often face similar attacks. At Care Net, it is our prayer that organizations like Students for Life will continue to courageously stand for life on campus and advocate for pro-life policies in society. May their voices not be silenced, as they continue to speak the truth in love, even in the face of such daunting and oppressive opposition.