Last week our ProLife Auckland president Amy Blowers wrote an excellent semester end wrap up newsletter which is worth sharing with our wider community. Enjoy.
Hey Everyone: Well it’s the last week of classes before exams, and ProLife Auckland’s 2011 draws to a close. It seems only yersterday that we were setting up the O-Week stall! I’d like to thank all our members for their support over the course of the year- it’s been fairly epic.
The club continues to grow, and we’ve put on a great lineup of events over the course of the two semesters. Between the JustThink campagin in May, Brendan Malone’s bioethics lecture earlier this semester, our volunteer day at the 0800 U CHOOSE pregancy help centre, and the recent screening of ‘The Biology of Prenatal Development’ (not to mention the myriad of speakers and discussions we’ve had during our fortnightly Wednesday meetings!), ProLife Auckland has made a real contribution to intellectual discourse here at the University of Auckland.
These have all been great opportunities to really engage with ordinary students on the issue of abortion in New Zealand society, in a friendly non-confrontational environment. Though not everyone agrees with us, it’s been great to see students opening up about such a taboo topic. And that’s what makes life interesting, am I right? University is about challenging yourself, your beliefs; making ourselves think about our place and our duty to our world.
In this, I think we young people (and maybe not so young!) have a profound contribution to make to society. It reminds me what John Fox noted during his presentation last month; about how ‘a culture of life’ is not some cerebral academic exercise but a paradigmatic cultural shift which derives from a profound respect and love for all members of humanity.
It makes one realise that being a part of something like ProLife Auckland, as well as being at uni in general, is actually hugely special. We’ve been given an awesome chance to actually think about ways to enact positive, momentous cultural change here in Aotearoa-New Zealand, and across the world. Even if we don’t necessarily come to a resolution, as Joseph Jourbert put it, “it is better to debate a question without settling it then to settle a question without debating it”.
Some might call this youthful idealism, but during these days when we’re hearing a lot about the need to curb the excesses of the West, to protect the interests of students, to meet ecological challenges, it’s important to remind ourselves that the essence of today’s global crises are a crisis of humanity, of a fundamental discordance over the nature of human dignity. How can we expect bankers and politicians not to exploit the poor, to secure educational and economic rights for all, and to act on environmental issues, if in the end, their view of the human person is essentially of a creature which has merely aquired special licenses we call ‘human rights’ through social construction and convention?
In this sense, while prolifers are too often accused of wanting to deal with only ‘the baby’ over the ‘the mother’, in fact we ultimately seek a greater compassion for all persons. That’s what motivates us: a true intellectual, empathetic and personal principle; not ideology; not social convention.
On that note, have you got any plans this summer? While the club’s year might be finished, there’s plenty of weet prolife stuff happening all over our beautiful country. Why don’t you start by looking at the Stayin’ Alive Summer Workshop, an awesome event for young people happening next month on the Kapiti Coast. The two-day workshop consists of talks and discussions on the prolife issue and will be attended by youth from all over New Zealand, from Kaitaia to Invercargill! A meagre $30 covers accomodation, all your meals and administrative costs. Just bring a pillow and sleeping bag and you’re away! Click here for more information and to register ASAP.
In fact, we’ve had such a good response from Aucklanders that we’ve secured a bus to drive down to Kapiti- so there’s your transport qualms sorted! Flick us an email at auckland@prolife.org.nz, and for an additional $10 each way, we can book you a seat.
Look forward to seeing you all at Stayin’ Alive! Otherwise, have an enjoyable and safe summer, and good luck for exams!
G’wan the All Blacks!
For life,
Amy Blowers,
President, ProLife Auckland.
Last Tuesday, the fourth of October, Prolife Auckland screened the documentary ‘Biology of Prenatal Development’ produced by The Endowment for Human Development (EHD) at the basement of UoA‘s Library. We had a good turnout, a lot more people than we expected.
After starting the evening with the pizza, chips, coke and socialising in the common area, we moved into lecture room B10 to watch the documentary.
There was some universally apprehensive giggling in the room, in the beginning, when the documentary attempted to give us a really quick and slightly awkward version of The Talk without saying anything about storks. Or cabbage patches.
But this soon passed, as we moved on to the main star of the documentary, the little zygote who was to become an embryo, foetus and baby before our eyes within the next 42 minutes.
The cool thing about this documentary is the use of Embryoscopy. That is, a teeny camera is placed inside the uterus to watch the development of the Embryo. Now I’ve heard the foetus or the embryo being described as a mass of tissue and a ‘pile of goo’. Now I grant you that every visible living organism is a mass of tissue, but a ‘pile of goo’ is not what I saw!
By four weeks, the embryoscopy showed a beating heart and a developing brain and a distinct little individual. Within another week, we could see its translucent skin and limb buds. By the end of six weeks it was positively cute with a huge head and those big button eyes (the eyelids haven’t formed yet). By nine weeks it was moving its head, curling its toes, and sighing while us females watching went ‘awww.’ It was just too cute. My favourite part was around 6 months when the baby was exposed to some really loud noises; he made this absolutely adorable expression of disgust.
I can’t speak for everyone, but during my schooling years, we didn’t learn much about prenatal development. We were told the basic sperm-plus-ovum-equals-zygote and nine months later, BAM! A baby. But it is a completely different thing seeing the complex process involved before birth. And considering that this documentary is about forty minutes and a pregnancy is about nine months, we’ve actually seen very little of what happens in a pregnancy. Another major plus about this documentary was that it was quite easy to follow. It wasn’t made for the bio majors and science professors but for the layperson. This is for the school kids, the Liberal arts students and especially the expectant mum since this video is all about educating people on how vital good prenatal health is for the future of the person.
I know I learnt a whole lot.
Did you know that by 8 weeks, the embryo has over 90% of the structures found in an adult?
Did you know that babies show taste preference for foods their mothers ate during the pregnancy? They mentioned an example of women eating licorice during pregnancy which led to their newborns showing a preference for licorice unlike other babies (and most normal human beings). I assume this will also work with broccoli and carrots.
Did you know that loud noises can be damaging to the health of the foetus and may contribute to hearing defects? So keep them speakers down on low volume.
But what has ‘The Biology of Prenatal Development’ to do with abortion? EHD is a neutral organisation; they’re all about educating on prenatal biology and don’t take a stand on ethics or politics. So why screen this at a Prolife event?
You may have heard of Bernard Nathanson who was an American abortionist up until the 1980s. He supported the woman’s right to reproductive freedom and was instrumental in the Roe v Wade decision to legalise abortion in the United States. But later on he began to change his view until he was vehemently opposed to abortion and likened it to a holocaust. What changed? Did Nathanson become a chauvinist pig overnight? No, with the development of ultrasound in obstetrics, Nathanson, a hardened abortionist, did a complete u-turn. I think it’s because ultrasounds and embryoscopy show that the embryo and foetus is more than a mass of tissue. The embryo suddenly becomes more personal and human.
Unplanned pregnancies are difficult. There are social breakdowns that make it very hard for many women to bring a child into this world. These women need help and abortion seems like a logical step. But it’s easy to downplay the humanity of the unborn child when you can’t see it. This documentary, through its use of embryoscopy, helps us see the unborn face to face.
I would fully recommend this documentary to everyone I know. I think it’s an important resource towards having an educated opinion regarding the morality of abortion. And if you’re already fixed in your opinions you should still watch it to appreciate how complicated and special our bodies are. And the cuteness factor in the video doesn’t hurt one bit.
For more information check out EHD’s website at http://www.ehd.org/index.php
You can also see clips of the documentary at http://www.ehd.org/movies-index.php
We also have a selection of videos from EHD on our website at http://prolife.org.nz/resources/fetoscope-and-4d-videos/
A brief report from ProLife Auckland on a recent guest speaker to one of their discussion lunches.
Last Wednesday during our fortnightly discussion lunch, the Club was hugely privileged to have John Fox of the UoA English Department to come in and speak on his prolife experiences and give his thoughts on ‘what a culture of life looks like’. Over pizza, John, who having been born ten weeks premature knows a few things about appreciating life, talked how a woman’s choice of abortion is never made in a vacuum, but in fact represents the failure of society in a myriad of ways.
In an inspirational, thought-provoking 40 minutes, John presented kiwi prolifers with a challenge: that our goal of restoring New Zealand to a culture of life, means a radical- that is explicit and uncompromising- commitment to community, the truth, and human dignity.
It would be a grave hypocrisy, John continued, for us prolifers to argue for the protection of the unborn while failing to extend the same human dignity to our friends, family, the elderly, the disabled; even the stranger on the street. We show our respect for all human beings in how we treat the person who makes our coffee in the morning; our bus-driver; the homeless person in Albert Park. As Aristotle reminds us (via John), Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a great battle. We’re all in this together.
If you are looking to take the next step and get involved with an organisation that is part of realising John’s vision, click here to get in contact with us and we can work out how we can get you involved.
Prolife Auckland will be helping out at 0800 U Choose, a South Auckland pregnancy options and help center, on Saturday the 27th.
0800 U Choose is currently doing some renovations, so we thought it would be a great idea to go along and give them some practical help with whatever we can help with!
If you are free on Saturday the 27th, come along and give them some support for the great work they do in the pro-life movement.
We will be starting at 10am, and finishing up with a pot luck lunch. Please bring a plate of finger food and/or some juice to share.
If you need transport, please send us a message, and a ride can be arranged. A car will be leaving uni at about 9:30am if you need a ride from there.
If you have any practical skills such as painting, building etc, please leave a comment below
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Who are 0800 U Choose?
0800 U Choose are based in Auckland and provide help and support for women facing a crisis pregnancy.
This includes anything from a listening ear/someone to talk to a place to stay, practical teaching on baby care, financial help, teaching about pregnancy birth and after, care for your baby (whatever way you choose), going to appointments with you, linking with a midwife, linking with budgeting services and real love and support.
Last Friday night Brendan Malone of the Culture Vulture came to Auckland University to give a talk on the topic of Abortion and Human Rights.
The event was a huge success, with over a hundred people packing the Library Basement (a record for Pro-Life Auckland!) enjoying plenty of pizza and an engaging presentation on the nature of the entity in the womb, followed by a dissection of the Judith Jarvis Thompson ‘Violinist argument’. A truly brilliant night.
While dissecting the ‘violinist argument’ Brendan pointed out Thompson’s vital flaw by showing the distinction between abortion, which is a direct and intentional killing of a human person, oppossed to the violinist in her argument dying from an incurable disease.
The video of Brendan’s talk will shortly be made available online for everyone who wasn’t there on Friday night, but in the meantime, visit our Facebook page to see images of the event.
Prolife Auckland will be hosting more events similar to this in the future, as we continue to raise the profile of the abortion issue on campus and encourage students to think about life issues.
Join our Facebook page to keep up-to-date with our upcoming events.
Prolife Auckland – the pro-life club at the University of Auckland has successfully re-affiliated today with the AUSA (Auckland University Student Association).
The affiliation process at the AUSA requires a vote at an open forum in the AUSA quad with AUSA members voting.
Today there were two clubs on the agenda to affiliate who were focused around abortion. Auckland Pro-choice and Prolife Auckland.
Prolife Auckland was firstly affiliated last year after removing a 8 year discriminatory ban against pro-life clubs.
Auckland pro-choice is a new group set up this year. (As you can see they pretty much take the style of our name – APA referencing would have been nice, but we don’t mind).
I got up and spoke in favour of Auckland Pro-choice affiliating. I believe it is every group’s right to be able to affiliate and have their views put across on campus, where ideas are meant to be discussed openly. I asked all pro-life club supporters to also vote for them and they were affiliated with no votes against.
However, they did not return us that favour.
A vote was taken which we won by 46 votes to 26 on whether Prolife Auckland should be allowed to affiliate. Again we reiterated that this was not about whether pro-choice or pro-life is the correct view, it was about whether a club should be able to put across its view and students be able to exercise their freedom of speech.
Their only argument against us, which they did not prove, was that they accussed us of causing significant emotional harm to their members and one in particular. As I pointed out, the debate that we are engaging is very controversial, and we have to understand that, but that should not mean we don’t speak about it.
Too often society leaves important issues unaddressed, so shutting down a clubs ability to discuss a controversial issue is not going to help that.
A huge thank-you to the ProLife Auckland team for making this happen and also for everyone who came along and supported us re-affiliating. We are looking forward to what we will be doing in the coming year! Watch this space!
Finally, in attendance was a Dame. Dame Margaret Sparrow was there eating scones and having a cup of tea. We hope that she enjoyed watching democracy in action and seeing students get passionate about their right to freedom of speech. Of course Dame Margaret Sparrow is a long advocate of abortion, so we hope that she saw that the next generation of New Zealanders are prepared to stand up and say abortion is not ok.
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