SSFL On Campus
Stanford Students for Life is very involved on campus. We hold weekly meetings to plan events and educate ourselves. We discuss current issues with regard to abortion, euthanasia, the death penalty, and alternatives to these. We also hold events to educate the campus, and to provide services to Stanford community members so that they feel they can make informed decisions. A few of our many events are:
Memorial Events
 January 24, 2005.
Soon after the 32nd anniversary of Roe. Vs. Wade, Stanford Students for Life held a memorial in White Plaza in which 440 small crosses were constructed, each one representing 100,000 legally aborted children since the 1973 Supreme Court Decision. Go here for the press release, and go here for event pictures. |
Speaker Events
 January 30, 2006.
On Monday, January 30, 2006, SSFL hosted the president of Feminists For Life to present “The Feminist Case Against Abortion.” Cosponsored by the ASSU and the Speakers Bureau, this event informed the Stanford community about the history of pro-life feminism and how Feminists for Life advocates for pregnancy and parenting resources, particularly on college campuses with the new Elizabeth Cady Stanton bill. Addressing an audience of ninety-two people, president Serrin Foster emphasized Feminist philosophy as “nonviolence, nondiscrimination, and not using force to control another’s body” and cited her experiences in bringing pro-choice and pro-life students together at college campus pregnancy resource forums. McCarthy summarized the message of her speech: “By focusing on present day solutions she made an excellent case for a positive and practical way to move forward in this supercharged debate, while avoiding legal embroglio… She highlighted a path that is both practical and humane, and often forgotten - the care for and attention to those who are pregnant and need help.” Listen to the 1.5 hr mp3 version here or read the official standard FFL transcript. |
 April 11, 2005.
On April 11, SSFL welcomed a special guest speaker, Mike Spence, the vice president of the California ProLife Council (www.californiaprolife.org) to discuss euthanasia and the Terri Schiavo case. He also showed a 20-minute video entitled "Death as a Salesman: What's Wrong with Assisted Suicide." (which SSFL has a copy and you may view.) This video featured interviews with nurses, doctors, and others specializing in this field, including Brian Johnston, who serves as CPLC's executive director and on whose book the documentary was based. The video analyzed the rhetoric of the pro-death lobby, pointing out how words can be used to mislead and emotionally manipulate the general public, and examined the effects of legal euthanasia in the Netherlands (namely, the involuntary deaths of 18,000 people). One of the video's chief contentions was that hospice-care is the answer and featured an interview with a hospice patient, who explained that were assisted suicide (which is an oxymoron) made legal, elderly would be under severe pressure to let doctors take their lives. Go here for event pictures. |
November 12, 2004.
"The War on People" by Steven Mosher, President of the Population Research Institute (www.pop.org), spoke on his research in China at Stanford and investigations by PRI in other countries such as Mexico. He spoke about the Myth of Overpopulation and the history of population control programs. He detailed human rights abuses such as coercive abortions and sterilizations, and described actions by the UNFPA. The talk included various examples of specific interviews with victims, as personally experienced by Steven Mosher. You may hear some of his talk by clicking here. Go here for event pictures. |
 We bring speakers to
campus throughout the year. Over the past few years we have been
participants in the Herstory week. In 2000, we brought speakers from
the Pregnancy Care Centers in the area to speak on sexuality and
abortion. Topics included information about sexual education for junior
high, high school, and college students, a description of services
available to women in an unplanned pregnancy, detailed information
about all three options for women, and an explanation of post-abortion
syndrome. |
| Serrin
Foster, the president of Feminists For Life, came and spoke in 2001. Her
lecture, entitled "The Feminist Case Against Abortion," drew a record
crowd for SSFL speaking events. We didn't even have enough chairs to
accomodate the audience! We also made
TOP STORY in the Stanford Daily
the following day. Serrin described how it is possible, or rather how
it is necessary, to be feminist and pro-life. Her speech was inspiring
to all those who are looking toward an active approach to the fight
against abortion, euthanasia, and the death penalty. She spoke mostly
on abortion, and urged all people to provide better resources, care,
and support for women so that they don't ever want to choose abortion.
Providing abortion has only slowed the feminist movement, as pregnancy
is still a "women's problem" that she should deal with.
Providing abortion does not provide equality for women -- it just seems
as though it is a "quick fix" so society won't have to face the real
issues. More information on Serrin's views can be found through Feminists For Life. |
 Pregnancy
Resources PanelIn Spring 2001 we held our first Pregnancy Resources Panel on campus. This panel brought on-campus services together to discuss what they offer students who are pregnant. Participants included the WorkLife office, which provides child care services on campus, the Financial Aid Office, the Associate Dean of Student Life, the Women's Center director, the Bridge counselers, and the Pregnancy Care Center. We hope to continue to host this panel with more participants such as Housing Services, Cowell Health Services, the Dean of Residential Life, adoption services, and more. |
Candlelight Vigil
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