Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Catholic News

Home

Home
Catholic
Religion News
Georgetown class requires work with abortion group

Georgetown class requires work with abortion group

Last updated on: October 28, 2013 at 11:37 pm by CNA Daily News

Georgetown class requires work with abortion group 2013-10-28T23:37:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Washington D.C., Oct 28, 2013 / 05:37 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- A Georgetown University Law Center class offered next spring will require students to work with a lobbying group which a lawyer said is known for its work promoting abortion rights.

“Georgetown offers a course that will require students to work with an organization dedicated to promoting abortion and contraception and actively attacking religious freedom,” Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network, told CNA Oct. 25.

She added that Georgetown's offering of the course is “a disgrace to its Catholic identity.”

“Georgetown students will be given course credit for advancing the very policies that our bishops are fighting in court and promoting abortion and contraception that, as our faith teaches us, do violence to both women and children.”

On Oct. 24, the Cardinal Newman Society was the first to report that Georgetown University Law School will be offering “Regulatory Advocacy: Women and the Affordable Care Act,” in its spring 2014 semester, taught by Kelli Garcia.

The course will require that students work alongside the National Women's Law Center, a D.C.-based advocacy group whose healthcare platform pushes for abortion, sterilization and contraceptive provision as health care.

The organization’s work aims specifically to “oppose challenges such as pharmacy refusals and religious restrictions,” of individuals and religious groups who find these products and procedures as unconscionable.

The NWLC website decries organizations such as crisis pregnancy centers and Catholic hospitals for their unwillingness to participate in abortions, and labeled the ethical rules governing Catholic hospitals, bans on sex-selective abortions, and restrictions on the abortion of babies capable of feeling pain and living outside of their mother as “Threats to A Woman’s Right to Decide Whether to Have an Abortion.”

This policy and legal work against religious freedom in favor of abortion provision is headed by Kelli Garcia, senior counsel for NWLC, who “oversees the Center's efforts to address religious restrictions” on abortions and contraception, the organization’s website states.

Garcia will be both teaching the course and coordinating its practical component.

This is Garcia’s second time at Georgetown: from 2011-2012, Garcia was an O’Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law representative at Georgetown.

The class she is teaching will instruct students on the intersection of women’s health – which is often code for the provision of abortions, sterilization and contraception – and the Affordable Care Act, as well as on its rules, including the HHS mandate, which requires employers to provide and pay for abortion-causing and contraceptive drugs, even against their deeply-held religious beliefs.

Students in the class will also be required to “work with the National Women's Law Center to develop projects that will assist in the organization's regulatory advocacy efforts,” and participate in “strategy meetings and conference calls with the partner organization and other coalition members.”

Some of the organizations partners are the Ford Foundation, which is a supporter of expanding abortion programs, and the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, among other organizations in other topic areas.

The National Women’s Law Center also addresses other areas of law regarding women, including equal pay laws, maternity leave, elimination of discrimination against pregnant women, sexual harassment, early childcare education, poverty support for struggling families, and fighting discrimination in the workplace against mothers of young children.

Georgetown University Law Center said in a statement to CNA that the class “is an optional course” and is part of a broad education and emphasized that the “practicum will explore a number of issues,” including eating disorders, maternity coverage, and other topics.

The university also stressed that “there are no assignments pertaining to abortion, and certainly no requirement that students adhere to a particular set of beliefs.”

“Georgetown University embraces academic freedom and supports the free exchange of ideas in order to foster dialogue on critical issues of the day – such as issues relating to the Affordable Care Act,” Georgetown University Law Center continued.

“The issues discussed in this class, or any class, do not imply any institutional endorsement of a particular course of action.”

It is unclear whether students will be able to choose to work on a project related to abortion or contraception for the final practical project.

As of the publishing of this article, the Archdiocese of Washington was not able to comment on the class or the instructor to CNA, saying that they would look more into the situation.

Severino explained that while students may not be forced to assist directly in abortion-related activities, it is “still disheartening to see a Catholic school offering a platform for an organization that is diametrically opposed to the Church on abortion, contraception, and religious liberty.”

She explained that the “language of the course description may sound potentially neutral, but the content is almost certainly not.”

The National Women’s Law Center “has been active in promoting and defending the HHS contraception/abortifacient mandate,” Severino said, adding that the mandate “not only will increase the use of drugs that the Church teaches do violence to both women and their children, but it also is being used to force religious organizations and Catholic business owners to pay for contraceptives and abortifacients or pay crushing penalties.”

“The course description is about learning regulatory advocacy in health care, and the HHS Mandate is precisely the type of regulation the NWLC is advocating.”

“It is outrageous that Georgetown is employing a professor whose agenda is specifically focused on increasing abortions, even when that comes at the expense of religious freedom,” Severino said.

“What is key here is also that this is not an issue of a Georgetown professor whose personal beliefs do not line up with (the) Church – there are surely many of those as can be expected in a large university. But this course appears to be designed specifically to teach Georgetown students how to advocate for contraception and abortion and against religious freedom.”

Previous Post

October 28, 2013

Becket Fund will represent EWTN, Alabama in HHS suit

Next Post

October 29, 2013 Maintain faith during persecutions, Iraqi bishop advises

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which relative of Saul cursed and threw stones at David during Absalom's rebellion?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Mephibosheth Ish-bosheth Jonathan Shimei