On the 5th of October 2021 an influencer and mental health campaigner called Ben West drew attention to a society at Exeter University called Exeter Students for Life, a pro-life group. He shared it to both Twitter and Instagram, and the Instagram post went viral overnight, gaining over 22,000 likes to date and numerus comments and shares in the following days.
The online blow-up drew attention to the Pro-Life vs Pro-Choice argument, and really highlighted the mistreatment of women. All this sparked questions surrounding the rights of those with uteruses, and the blatant sexism still rampant in current society. I decided to investigate this further, speaking to students from Exeter University and conducting my own research to get a better idea of what was really happening, and the effect this has on people.
Social Media Response:
Firstly, I looked into Instagram, as that was the social media platform where all this began. I started by investigating the society itself via the group's Instagram page. The first thing I noticed was that every post was flooded with comments after it went viral, and most of them showed overall anger and disapproval of the society's existence. However, some comments were in favour the group, such as "really well written argument here. Unborn children have the right to life.". These supportive comments were faced with critical replies, and the bad reactions clearly outweighed the good. Most negative comments I read were sarcastic, humorous and crude, however some made valid points based on science, politics and law. The backlash got so bad that members of the group were facing online death threats, resulting in the page turning off the ability for people to leave comments. I managed to get some examples before they were deleted, which can be read below.
They also included posts introducing the society's individual members, with their name, photo, course at university, favourite place in Exeter and a section on why each of them are pro-life. Some of them make more sense than others, referring to religious beliefs like President Ali, who stated "God defines abortion as murder...there is forgiveness, however, in Christ, which can be obtained through repentance and belief in Jesus." The idea of using religious beliefs to push an ideology is an interesting one that has been challenged many times throughout history. While I don't believe it is fair to criticise one's religion, I also don't think it's fair to use religion to win an argument or push an agenda. And the idea of repentance is arguably very outdated, and faced backlash online.
Other society members had different views; Vice President Robert believing abortion is "a choice made in fear", something I would argue is not at all a fair representation of why people choose to have abortions. To claim it is all done in fear shows a real lack of understanding for the situation, and a very tunnelled view of the world.
Their treasurer Micheal puts it simply: "Abortion ends an innocent human life. It is wrong to end an innocent human life. Therefore, abortion is wrong." While straight to the point, this argument clearly avoids personal situations and hardships that may cause someone to have an abortion, and in discussions like these I think it is important to understand and open yourself up to different views and perspectives to gain a full understanding before making such a harsh and cold statement. The page also posted some Q and A sessions on their Instagram, which shows they were aware of the public's overall opinion, and did try to address some of the main issues people seemed to have. However, the answers didn't seem to satisfy anyone, and only cause more backlash.
I did reach out to the society via their Instagram page to ask them questions and get their opinion, point of view and perspective, but unfortunately they did not get back to me. However, in my next stint of research I looked at articles by different publications about the situation, and the society did give comments to some of those news companies, so I do have an idea from that what their opinions and thoughts on all this are from those. By looking into the overall reaction to the formation of this society we can start to see patterns and overall opinions being formed. The media became heavily involved in this instance, and helped raise awareness about the situation.
The Media's Response:
The Independent wrote a fairly balanced article about the situation, and included quoted from a statement issued by the University of Exeter's Student Guild, saying that they heard and understood the opposition to the society but that they supported "freedom of speech".
The Daily Mail wrote a more biased piece, siding with the majority public's disapproval with their article titled "Students' fury after Exeter University allows Christian anti-abortion society with a male president to canvas support amongst freshers." While I don't agree bringing faith into this is fair, as the society did state they welcome all faiths, the argument that they were getting support and encouraging freshers is an interesting one. University is a new and scary time for young people, often the first time living away from home, even in a new country for some. To use a society based on an extremely discriminatory viewpoint to get people to agree with that agenda under the guise of a new group of friends I feel is unfair and even a bit predatory. Societies, in my opinion, should be for things like sports and hobbies, Harry Potter and chess, or for people of different minorities, sexualities or religions to meet people like themselves and find their people, not to push agendas.
The Critic wrote a humorous and sarcastic piece highlighting what they see as a negative situation, but they use comedy to emphasise the 'stupidity' of the group's views and the overall situation.
Christian Today managed to get a quote from the society's President Ali, and the piece clearly sided with the society and their right to run it. In his quote, Ali stated "A pro-life society has just as much right to enjoy its freedom of association as any other society at the university. The treatment of the society at the hands of cancel culture activists is very disturbing." It does make me wonder why the society only chose to give comments to media outlets that already shared their beliefs, rather than allowing others to speak to them also. This reenforces an idea of tunnelled views and opinions; I believe in order for us as a society to learn and grow, we should listen to different views than our own, look at the facts and base our own opinions on that, rather than being comfortable in what we believe we already know. Expanding our minds and being open is the only way to truly learn and understand.
The links to the full articles are below:
The Independent- https://www.independent.co.uk/news/education/education-news/abortion-petition-letter-exeter-university-b1935005.html
Christian Today- https://www.christiantoday.com/article/over.7000.sign.petition.against.exeter.university.pro.life.group/137537.htm
I personally don't believe any real change can be made with people being cruel online, death threats are unacceptable in this case, and cruel jokes and disrespectful attitudes will only add fuel to the fire. However, positive actions can create positive change, and as I continued my research I found two great examples of these at Exeter University.
Students' Response:
Firstly, I spoke to the owner of an instagram page created in response to the Pro-Life society. @exeterstudentsprochoice created their page as "an unofficial Exeter Student account for all those who unequivocally support body autonomy." (as written in their bio).
When asked why the pro-life vs pro-choice argument was important, they said "Because, from a moral standpoint, there really isn't a right answer. It's something that's going to be debated forever, since both sides of the coin think they are correct. However, from a lawmaking point of view, the priority should be to protect as many lives as possible - which the pro-life argument doesn't do. Illegal and unsafe abortion rates only increase, putting the mothers life at risk as well as any foetus."
They then followed up by saying the response on campus has been strong, though have sadly died down since. "The vast majority of students have shown support (for the pro-choice argument), with few indifferent and even fewer in support of pro-life. A student organisation has been formed for pro-choice too."
Since things went viral, there hasn't been a lot of change, "Pressure on the uni didn't affect much, even when they were suggested to be in breach of the law. Going viral hasn't solved our problems, just brought them to light." The page owner finished by saying "We still need a lot more education surrounding sex, pregnancy and abortion - it's quite concerning how little people actually know and how many people believe clickbait and abortion propaganda. Nobody that is pro-choice loves or is excited about abortions, we just see that they're a necessary option to have in order to protect women. Better sex ed, and better free/inexpensive support for new parents are the only way we can safely reduce abortion rates."
(Follow @exeterstudentsprochoice on Instagram for more of their content.)
Finally, I had the pleasure of speaking to Alice and Yasmin (both she/her) from the organisation Sit Down Shut Up (@sitdownnshutup_ on Instagram). Both Exeter University students helped form the group in to raise awareness for sexual assault cases at the university and in general. They organised sit-in protests to stand against this issue.
When the Exeter Students Pro Life society was formed, the group took a public stand against them and their existence at the university. They began by sharing petitions and letter calling for the university to shut it down, and gained donations to by stickers to be given out in solidarity with this issue. Following the statement from the university claiming it would be illegal to shut the society down, the group organised another protest on campus, featuring speakers, signs and chants to raise awareness. This gained them a lot of attention, getting plenty of responses from large media outlets such as The Independent, BBC South West, ITV West Country, Devon Live and The Tab Exeter (All of these can be watched/read via links on their Instagram highlight reel titled "Press"). The protest was a huge success, and while no change has happened as of yet, by peacefully protesting and making people listen, I believe eventually changes will start to happen.
The girls spoke to me all about the protest, student reaction and what's to come in a short interview that can be watched below, along with photos from the protest. The protest itself was live-streamed, and can also be viewed on their Instagram page.
The Interview:
Images from the protest, courtesy of Alice Orlik from Sit Down Shut Up:
The protest took place on Wednesday 13th of October, just 8 short days after the social media storm began discussing the issues surrounding the pro-life argument.
My Response:
In conclusion, the formation of the Exeter University Pro Life society raised several issues and debated surrounding misogynistic views of people with uteruses and the overall mistreatment of women. The negative reaction from students and the public vastly outweighed any positive reactions and support for the group, and it is clear that this issue is not going away any time soon. Students, women and the public alike are still actively working against groups and individuals that spread sexist and controlling ideologies by fighting for pro-choice and women's rights. While the overall consensus believes in freedom of speech and individual opinion, the idea of pushing and spreading potentially dangerous views in the form of simple university groups is causing fear amongst many. If abortions are made illegal, they won't stop happening, they will only become unsafe and unregulated. It should always be the choice of the individual, and support should always be provided, not forcibly pushing a decision onto them.
Sadly, this is not just one incident based in Exeter. In my research I found evidence of similar societies at different universities around the country, such as in Nottingham and Oxford. And while abortions are legal in England, there are many places around the world that still oppose them, and force women into unsafe and scary situations rather than providing them with information and support, no matter what they choose to do. Around the time of this society being discussed, abortion legislations were being discussed and protested in Texas, and since then there have been several heartbreaking cases of sexual abuse and even murder of women in the South West. This is not a simple issue with a simple fix. Heartbreakingly, women and people with uteruses are being attacked and marginalised daily based purely on their gender and anatomy.
From the government website, we can see key historical dates and statistics surrounding abortion, and funding to help those unable to access safe legal abortions, such as women in Northern Ireland. Below:
I believe that education, peaceful protests and information available to all is the way to move forward and enact positive change, rather than online trolling and violence. While my research into this topic was heartbreaking, it was also inspiring, as I got to see and talk to people who are helping make a change by spreading awareness and information, and standing up for what they believe in. Now it is time for authorities to match, with universities and student guilds, police and governments being called to step up and see what is happening, and make a change. If not, I worry for the safety of those being targeted. I hope people continue to fight for what they believe in, and I hope to see change soon.