Union University President Samuel “Dub” Oliver and other panelists spoke at an event hosted by pro-life student organization Life139 designed to depoliticize the issue of abortion, held on Monday, March 29, at 5:45 p.m. in the G.M. Savage Memorial Chapel.
The discussion topic was “Abortion is Not a Political Issue––Change My Mind.” The panel consisted of four speakers: Oliver, dean of arts and sciences and political science professor Hunter Baker, associate professor of nursing Jennifer Delk, and pro-life administrator T.C. Talley.
Each panelist had the opportunity to answer a variety of questions on the issue of abortion, all centered around the politicization of abortion and the subsequent polarization of some people groups.
“We have to be careful that we’re not outsourcing our spirituality to anyone, certainly not to a political body or any secular group,” Oliver said. “But we have to understand that the larger culture, in many ways, functions under that understanding.”
“Abortion has become political because we’ve lost the truth of this issue,” Talley said. “It’s not only spiritual, it’s a moral issue.”
The event was designed to encourage conversation among different groups of Union students about abortion that is not just political, reaching out to people of all backgrounds from a spiritual standpoint.
“We saw on campus that there’s really this kind of… over-politicalization of the pro-life movement,” Olivia Shaw, vice president of Life139 and a freshman political science and Christian studies major, said. “So we were hoping, really, to just create conversation about it and make everyone feel welcome.”
Life139 is a campus organization named after Psalm 139:13-16. Its purpose is to uphold the sanctity of human life from a Christian viewpoint. The club often invites professors to lecture and share their perspectives and experiences.
On Monday, April 4 at 2 p.m., members of the organization will participate in sidewalk counseling as they pray in front of centers in Memphis that offer abortions.
The club meets at 6 p.m. Monday nights in PAC D-52.
Photo By Laila Al-Hagal
