The students who are part of the
Students for the Right to Life (SRL) at UTSA disengage themselves from
different backgrounds, religious beliefs and political opinions, coming
together in support of human life and women’s health.

The organization is run by UTSA
students and has been in existence for a little over three years. Synthia K. Perez,
President of Students for the Right to Life at UTSA, states that the mission of
the organization “is to inform students about the dignity of human life, from
fertilization to natural death. We believe in protecting all humans at all
stages of life.”

The organization’s overall goal
is to inform and to make people aware of human rights and abortion. “We are not
trying to make people change their beliefs, but to challenge their beliefs and
why they believe it,” Perez says

They promote their mission through
tabling, conducting meetings and holding events. Their group website states
that they “work to
promote a greater understanding of the pro-life philosophy by engaging in
community service events, presentations, debates, and outreach.” Many of
their events are informative and touch on many topics that relate to the
negative effects of abortion and contraceptives. They choose to instead promote
a natural method for family planning. 
Recently, on Mar. 5, SRL held a discussion panel, Green Sex and Ham,
that hosted “a panel of professionals who work to
promote a better understanding of contraceptives and their effects on our
personal relationships as well as our society as a whole,” according to their
event page.

“The
panel informed students about a natural method of family planning and teaching
women more about their bodies and to inform them about the negative effects of
birth control,” states Perez.

According to Perez, the hormones
from oral contraceptives can cause a “hardening of a woman’s uterus and it ages
it about twenty years over time and constant use,” Perez mentioned.

 “A women can possibly
conceive and not even know it because the new form life [egg] can not be
implanted into the uterus because of the hardening. The result is that the new
life will exit their body because there is no possibility for implantation due
to the hormones released from the oral contraception.” Perez states that the
process is called abortifacient.

Alternatives
to birth control include, “Natural Family Planning,” which teaches that by
monitoring a woman’s ovulations cycles, she can avoid preganancy based on the
time of the month that she engages in intercourse.

SRL also claims that the Planned
Parenthood program is misleading the general public by not fully disclosing factual
evidence that may diminish the Planned Parenthood reputation. A flyer that
Students for the Right to Life frequently pass out during their tabling
sessions, states that they “provide poor quality and faulty birth control that
ensures their abortion profits.” It also states that “according to Consumer
Reports, Planned Parenthood condoms have the lowest possible ranking,” thus
causing more unwanted pregnancies.

Members of SRL believe that the
person who receives poor quality contraception from Planned Parenthood will
return to the same facility that offers abortion advice.

SRL has a desire to bring
awareness and to provide factual information. Although there may be many that
oppose the pro-life stance, Perez states that, “the majority of the people have
questions about life and what abortion is. There are some opposition opinions
but they are few when [we are out on campus] promoting our mission.”

“The main goal is to give and
promote dialogue and to have students take a stance on the issue and to reason
with themselves as to why they chose their stance,” says Perez.

The organization does work with
other pro-life groups in the San Antonio area, but they are not funded by or
are affiliated with them. The UTSA group is in place solely to spread
information about women’s health and human life in general.

 The organization does not discriminate against anyone; even
those that may have been faced with the controversial decision to proceed with
an abortion. Silent no More is an organization that works closely with SRL to
inform women that have had an abortion and may regret it, or are struggling
with their decision. The support group gives these women resources and an
outlet for support.

For more information on Students
for the Right to Life at UTSA visit their Facebook page at or their twitter
page.

Other resources discussed can be
viewed at www.StudentsforLife.org/PlannedParenthood
and www.SilentNoMoreAwareness.org.