Last week, Catholics for Choice signed onto a letter from H*yas for Choice and students at Georgetown University, asking their administration to publicly condemn the speakers of the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life (COCC), the largest student-run anti-abortion conference in the United States, and force student organizers to permanently change the conference’s name. In response to this letter, the Georgetown administration chose silence.

Year after year, this conference glorifies Cardinal O’Connor and provides a platform for harmful and hate-fueled rhetoric that reinforces the patriarchal structures of the hierarchy and society at large. This harms the students who are meant to feel at home on the Georgetown campus. The fact that Georgetown continues to host COCC demonstrates its lack of regard for marginalized students and their interests.

As a Catholic and Jesuit university, Georgetown claims to promote racial justice, gender equality and LGBTQ+ rights. This event is antithetical to the values on which the University was founded and doesn’t reflect the views or beliefs of the student body. The administration's active support of this conference demonstrates that the university is falling woefully short of its own ideals. Join us in reminding them to value social justice and protect their students, including those who are most marginalized.

Speak up as a prochoice Catholic, today!