Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

Independent Student Newspaper for the University of Texas at San Antonio

The Paisano

    Students for the Right to Life discuss alternatives

    Paseo-abortion(sarah)

    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.