Georgetown hosts “largest student-run pro-life” conference, faces backlash from student protestors

Georgetown University hosted the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life (COCC), the “largest student-run pro-life” conference in America on Jan. 24. Despite the oncoming winter storm, over 700 people made their way to Gaston Hall to listen to a variety of speakers who discussed how young people can further anti-abortion goals. 

H*yas for Choice (HFC), an organization advocating for abortion rights at Georgetown, organized a week of programming to protest the conference, ending in organizing in Red Square.

The Conference

At the check-in table, volunteers greeted guests as they handed out red folders with the evening’s schedule, lunch-access wristbands, and fetus plushies equipped with a light-up heartbeat. Attendees were then welcomed to stop by the many booths that lined the halls, where fliers, T-shirts, and stickers promoting an anti-abortion stance were on display. Among the first booths were the GU Right to Life Club (GURTL) and Catholic Women at Georgetown Club. 

Elizabeth Oliver (CAS ’26), a senior director of the conference and president of GURTL, spoke to the anti-abortion presence on campus in her opening address. 

“Georgetown has always been, and I pray always will be, a pro-life university,” she said. 

With her time at Georgetown coming to a close, Oliver hopes that future leaders of both GURTL and the conference will continue to foster dialogue between “pro-choice” and “pro-life” students. 

Oliver also expressed her excitement for the future of the club. 

“I am very, very grateful for the fact that we have a huge enthusiasm from the underclassmen,” she said. “I have so many wonderful experiences at Georgetown, especially in our pro-life community, which is so supported by the university and we’re so grateful that there are young people to continue on this movement.”

During her keynote address, Jennie Bradley Lichter, president of the March for Life Education and Defense Fund, emphasized that “life is a gift” and highlighted the importance of supporting pregnant mothers to reduce abortions she described as “being driven by fear and lack of support.” She criticized the use of chemical “abortions pills,” the combined use of mifepristone and misoprostol to end an early pregnancy, and encouraged attendees to engage with legislators, advocate for legal protection for the unborn, and participate in March for Life, an annually held anti-abortion rally. 

This year, March for Life was led by GURTL the day prior to the conference. A short, rough cut video of the March was screened at the conference, highlighting the number of people that attended the March, along with personal testimonies of what being anti-abortion meant to them. After the video, Lichter commended all the college students that came to support March for Life.

Attendees returned after break out sessions to hear from a panel of professionals including Clare Ath, the senior policy analyst for anti-abortion organization Human Coalition, Jamie Towey, the president of Aging with Dignity, a non-profit dedicated to advocating for end-of-life care, and Christina Bennett, a Live Action news correspondent seen on outlets such as Fox News, Primetime, and The Christian Broadcasting Network.

The conversation consisted of personal testimonies from the speakers and discussion on the overturning of Roe v. Wade, the politicization of abortion, physician assisted suicide, the increased use of “abortion pills,” and the nature of care for both mothers and the elderly. 

“We have to show the beauty of life,” Bennett said. “If a woman chooses life, that is the right thing to do. Easy and right are not the same thing and there will be some level of pain and suffering.”

Bennett concluded the session by encouraging students in the audience to “let pro-life be written on your forehead” and to begin thoroughly committing themselves to the political movement and encouraging others to do the same. 

Sophie Sagastume (CAS ’29) enjoyed the conference as a whole and engaged in discussion with the panelists. 

“This is an issue that’s particularly close to me,” Sagastume said. “I think that even though we attend a Jesuit school, sometimes the Catholic values of the institution are a little lost. Of course we’re committed to religious diversity, but I think the roots of the institution still remain strong and this is really a testament to that.”

Despite any controversy surrounding the conference, Sagastume was impressed by students’ capacity to respectfully discuss a hot-button issue like abortion. 

“It’s really wonderful to see that even though there are disagreements across this campus, there’s Right to Life, there’s H*yas for Choice, it’s great to see respect on both sides of the aisle,” Sagastume said. 

Blocking COCC

Throughout the week, HFC mobilized against COCC through various events, including a postering session and collaboration with Georgetown’s NAACP. 

HFC hosted their roundtable discussion with the NAACP on Jan. 21, where approximately 30 students gathered to discuss how the overturning of Roe v. Wade marginalizes women of color with “more than half of abortions [being] among women of color prior to the overturning of Roe v. Wade” according to the to Women’s Midlife Health. Students expressed their frustration that restrictions on abortions have made it harder for women to seek unrelated reproductive healthcare, including ovarian and cervical cancer screenings. 

HFC’s anti-COCC efforts culminated in their protest at Red Square this Saturday, where students led chants such as “My body, my choice,” and “Not my tuition.” 

Mikayla DaSilva (CAS ’28) spoke to her frustration regarding her tuition funding COCC. 

“The administration can claim to be anti-choice on whatever basis it wants, but the students are the university,” DaSilva said. “We’re the ones funding this conference, we’re the ones that pay to go here. We are the community and culture here, and we are not anti-choice.”

In a statement to the Voice, a university spokesperson explained that the university funds the conference through GURTL. 

“The student group that helps to fund and host the event, GU Right to Life (GURTL), is a student organization with access to university benefits,” a university spokesperson wrote to the Voice. “Georgetown is firmly committed to the Catholic Church’s teachings and values, including those about the sanctity and dignity of life, and we strongly support a climate that continues to provide students with new and deeper contexts for engaging with our Catholic tradition and Jesuit identity.”

Many students remain discontented with the university’s stance. Grace Glover (CAS ’29), HFC’s director for development, shared her initial shock with Georgetown’s administration.

“When I came to Georgetown for the first time, I didn’t realize the administration was so anti-choice,” she said. 

In reference to the anti-abortion posters in Red Square and a truck parked outside of Walsh displaying a video of a bloody fetus, Glover said, 

“It’s really disheartening to see these really graphic images in the front of school and these posters right here in Red Square for the Cardinal O’Connor Conference, and I feel like students probably feel not welcome or like their views aren’t valued here,” Glover said.

The Confrontation

While gathered in Red Square, Alexis Childs (SFS ’27), a COCC board member, attempted to talk with the HFC crowd before she entered the ICC for the conference’s breakout sessions.

“Obviously everyone has the right to protest,” Childs said after the protest. “I guess I admire the dedication to show up in the cold. I do think some of the signs, like ‘you are not welcomed here,’ that’s not true. You may not agree with our position, but Georgetown is a free speech campus.”

One of the conference’s tablers, Bernadette Patel, a member of Feminists Choosing Life of New York, also engaged in conversation with the protesters. 

“I was just talking to these peaceful protesters because we share a lot of the same views,” Patel said. “I want women to have autonomy and access to medication. I really support very low-cost healthcare, I support social service programs, I think poverty is a form of violence, and I also believe abortion is a form of violence.”

Oliver also went to Red Square to speak with protesters. 

“I did go over and talk with them to invite them to attend the conference,” Oliver said. “I specifically told them about several of our speakers who are former pro-choice activists.”

Ruby Adler (SFS ’29), a member of HFC, found GURTL’s interruption of their protest to be disrespectful. 

“We weren’t trying to confront them, we weren’t walking towards them, we were just standing chanting ‘My body, my choice,” Adler said. “It felt very immature to just want to come up and say something that’s not moving towards productive conversation, that’s just very demeaning and rude.” 

Despite the disruption, HFC members continued their protest. 

“We will not go away or back down,” said Maria Halter (CAS ’27), co-president of HFC. “We have an absolute right to be here, despite what other people think.”

The Future of Georgetown’s “Pro-life Community”

With her time at Georgetown coming to a close, Oliver hopes that future leaders of both GURTL and the conference will continue to foster dialogue between “pro-choice” and “pro-life” students. 

Oliver also expressed her excitement for the future of the club. 

“I am very, very grateful for the fact that we have a huge enthusiasm from the underclassmen,” she said. “I have so many wonderful experiences at Georgetown, especially in our pro-life community, which is so supported by the university and we’re so grateful that there are young people to continue on this movement.”