Female students at the University of Manchester say a 'deeply disturbing' pro-life society founded by a male president who is 'against abortion' makes them fear for their safety

Female students at the University of Manchester say they fear for their safety after a pro-life group was formed within the students' union.

The Manchester Pro Life Society, which was founded on January 11, says it aims to “create a pro-life culture on campus, engage students in life issues and promote respect for the dignity of human life from conception '.

But shortly after the association, which has a male president and a male treasurer, was founded, a petition was opened to dissolve its activities – which has now attracted more than 16,000 signatures.

The petition, first posted by an anonymous student, says they are “deeply disturbed by the potential harm that could be caused by our university's Pro-Life Society” and encourages people to sign it “if you believes that every woman should have her right'. respected without fear or stigma within our university community'.

However, the University of Manchester Students' Association has said that the association has been established within the rules of the association registration process.

The petition, posted on Change.org on February 12, claims that the association's existence “adds to an already widespread stigma surrounding abortion, a legal right in our country.”

It adds: 'Women at our university should not have to face additional pressure or judgment over such personal matters.'

As the anonymous writer implores people to sign the petition, they argue that society “has the potential to cause unrest among students who need access to abortion services now or in the future.”

The society's president is George Vincent, a student of the history of art who lists GK Chesterton's St Francis of Assisi as his 'Desert Island Discs' book that he would take with him if he were exiled to a remote part of the world.

In October 2023, Vincent spoke to the Guardian about his pro-life views when he took part in an experiment where he had dinner with a man who held different political opinions.

He said: I recognize how much pain there must be for a woman in this situation. But I don't think an abortion solves that problem, the trauma doesn't go away.

'We have to support them. And if that means adoption, we shouldn't exclude people because they gave up their child.'

The association's treasurer is Jacob Karinatan, a medical student whose favorite book is Lord of the Rings.

A female student at the University of Manchester told the newspaper on Monday Independent said the association's founding was “the beginning of a Margaret Atwood novel” and accused the student association of “enabling misogynistic hate speech.”

Heather Bowling, a second-year linguistics student, said, “Society makes me feel weak and inferior to my male counterparts. I have received endless messages from girls who fear for their safety.'

She further accused the SU of representing the interests of the men who founded the association, ahead of the many thousands who had signed the petition.

FEMAIL has contacted the university's student association for comment.

Heather revealed that she has spoken to women on campus who have had abortions in the past and who say they now feel “personally victimized and threatened” by society's presence.

Another student who has opted for an abortion in the past recalled the “feelings of guilt” she experienced at the time, which she said were made worse by the things “people say” about abortion.

While she acknowledged that she believes in free speech, she added, “I don't understand why men form anti-abortion groups when there are so many men's issues they can work on.”

Amid criticism of the group's “all-male” origins, the Manchester Pro-Life Society announced on Tuesday that the committee had gained two new female members: Inge-Maria as vice-president and Lajoie as diversity and inclusion officer.

Inge-Maria studies dental hygiene and therapy, while Lajoie studies pediatric nursing.

As backlash against the society grows, a competing Instagram profile titled 'Stop Manchester Pro-Life' has been set up, encouraging people to organize and protest against the controversial society.

She has organized what she describes as a “peaceful demonstration” against society on February 29 – the same date the Pro-Life group has scheduled its first meeting.

When contacted by FEMAIL, a spokesperson for the Instagram campaign said: 'This isn't just a women's issue, it affects everyone assigned female at birth and there are plenty of male allies and people of different genders supporting us.'

They added that campaign leaders “understand freedom of speech” but claimed the Pro-Life group “continues to post facts and statistics that are simply inaccurate and have no source.”

“We call on the university to do something,” the report concluded.

In a statement to FEMAIL, Manchester University's Pro-Life Society said: 'The Pro-Life Society exists to promote the well-being and dignity of every human life, from conception.

'We are a positive society that exists primarily to help and support people at all stages of life. We exist to encourage students to think critically about the way we define and value human life.”

The statement continued to claim that the membership is diverse, with women playing a “critical role” in the association's work.

It added: However, we believe that these issues are relevant and important to people of both genders, they affect everyone. The right to life is not a gender-specific issue. It is also important to point out that we are not an anti-abortion society, but a pro-life society.

'This means that while we oppose abortion, we are also concerned about other threats to life, including assisted suicide, the death penalty, deaths from poverty and poor living standards, structural problems in critical infrastructure such as the NHS , and climate change.”

The statement added that the association will “promote a culture of campus life” by organizing events and fundraising, as well as “campaigning for greater support for students who are pregnant or parenting from the university, the student association and the government'.

The association also alleged that its members and supporters were subjected to “hatred,” which it denounced.

“We hope that in the future we can have reasonable and dignified conversations with everyone so that we can create a better campus and society, one in which everyone is valued and respected,” the report concluded.

The association did not specify who had directed “hatred” against its members – but an edit of the Change.org petition emphasized that the purpose of the movement was “in no way to call for any intimidation or intimidation of the members/committee of the Pro movement'. Live society personally'.