I was shouted down for 40 minutes at Oxford University

Nov 10, 2017 by

by Breda O’Brien, Irish Times:

It is not pleasant to be shouted down and prevented from speaking for 40 minutes, particularly since it happened in what is allegedly one of the best universities in the world, Oxford. I had been invited, along with Lorcan Price BL, by a small society, Oxford Students for Life, (OSFL), to speak about Ireland and abortion. (My son is on the OSFL committee but I choose to hope I might have been asked anyway).

OSFL hold many debates. This was different, an open invitation to attend two presentations lasting 50 minutes, to be followed by an equal amount of time for respectful civilised dialogue.

It is not easy to be anti-abortion in Oxford. The minority of students who publicly identify as pro-life meet reactions ranging from mild bemusement to outright hostility. Many others opt to keep their heads down.

OSFL was aware there was a protest planned by the Women’s Campaign of Oxford University Students’ Union. As a precautionary measure St John’s College brought in extra security, but this was not at OSFL’s request.

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