Earlier I had blogged about Catholic collegiate
connections with Planned Parenthood, and the good news is that seven Catholic
colleges have responded by removing or editing website pages that indicated
links between the colleges and Planned Parenthood.
However, more than three weeks after a report exposed
scandalous associations with the nation’s largest abortion provider, most other
colleges cited have taken no action to correct the problem.
Prompted by the recent videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s
abhorrent practices, the Cardinal Newman Society’s report, A
More Scandalous Relationship: Catholic Colleges and Planned Parenthood,
identified 63 connections between 27 Catholic colleges and Planned Parenthood
since May 2011. It was in 2011 that the Newman Society first reported 150 such
connections, most of which were quickly resolved by the Catholic institutions.
The connections include recommending Planned
Parenthood as a health resource to students, hiring faculty who currently or
previously worked at Planned Parenthood centers, hosting events with
representatives from the organization, and encouraging students to apply for
internships and volunteer opportunities at various Planned Parenthood
facilities.
Of the 63 connections identified last month, at least
14 have been changed or removed permanently from their respective websites. Let’s
name names:
·
DePaul University in Chicago, Ill.; the
University of Dayton in Ohio; Mount Carmel College of Nursing in Columbus,
Ohio; Mount Mercy University in Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Saint Mary’s College of
California; Stonehill College in Easton, Mass., and the University of San Diego
(USD) have updated their websites to remove or change references to Planned
Parenthood.
·
Mount Mercy University, Stonehill College
and the University of Dayton responded by letter, expressing regret for the
Planned Parenthood connections and noting that some materials were a few years
old but had not been removed from their websites.
·
USD removed two of its incriminating links
encouraging potential careers at Planned Parenthood for students, but two other
ties connecting current faculty to the abortion provider remain active and
unchanged.
·
Additionally, it is unclear whether or not
Regis University in Denver, Col., has cut ties with the organization. Access to
a description for the Master of Arts in Marriage and Family Therapy, which
originally suggested that students volunteer with organizations like Planned
Parenthood, is now limited and can no longer be viewed by the public.
Some of the more egregious connections discovered in
the report have been removed, including one connection summarized in a recent Crisis
Magazine article. One example is Mount Mercy University in Iowa. A local
government chart of “Sexual Health Resources” on the University website (with a
URL indicating sponsorship by the student life office) that links to Planned
Parenthood of the Heartland in Cedar Rapids as a resource for “Pregnancy/STI
Testing,” “HIV/AIDS Resources,” “Health Education,” “Women and Children’s
Services,” “Sexual Health Advocacy” and “LGBT Resources.” There is nothing
naïve about the referral; the chart itemizes services including “Birth control
supplies and information; Pregnancy testing; Abortion pill; In-clinic
abortion;…Emergency contraception (ECP’s/Plan B).” Planned Parenthood clinics
are similarly listed in separate charts of “Counseling and Therapy Resources” (noting that clinic staff
can “talk with individuals about their pregnancy options”) and “Family and Youth Resources.”
The links to “sexual health resource” files that
referenced Planned Parenthood now direct to Mount Mercy’s Sexual Assault
Information and Counseling Services. A University news article honoring a
Mount Mercy alumna was also changed, and the piece no longer mentions her work
at Planned Parenthood.
So, some Catholic colleges have ignored the scandal
caused by these connections. The connections discovered at prominent Catholic
colleges such as Boston College,
Creighton University, Georgetown University, Santa Clara University and Seattle University still remain active. For truly Catholic colleges, click here.
