Georgetown University’s student newspaper is calling on the school to stop hosting a major pro-life conference held on campus each year. The editorial argues the event conflicts with Georgetown’s stated values and harms students it claims feel excluded. The dispute spotlights a growing clash inside Catholic institutions over whether faith-based moral teaching still has a place in campus life.
The College Fix reported on a recent editorial from The Hoya, Georgetown’s student newspaper, urging the university to end its relationship with the Cardinal O’Connor Conference on Life. The editors wrote that, “in its current form,” the conference promotes “harmful and divisive ideology,” and claimed past speakers have been “anti-LGBTQ+” and dismissive of students’ experiences. They also argued the conference contradicts the Jesuit concept of cura personalis—care for the whole person.
The editorial further objected to what it described as university-wide backing for the event. It cited promotion by multiple administrative offices, including Georgetown’s Institute of Politics and Public Service, the office of the provost, and the office of student affairs. The editors argued that official promotion signals institutional endorsement of the conference’s message.
The College Fix also noted additional flashpoints raised by The Hoya: Georgetown’s affiliated hospital does not perform abortions, staff are not allowed to refer students to abortion clinics, and the School of Medicine curriculum does not offer abortion training. The editors suggested reforms rather than expecting outright cancellation, including limits on what they label “hate speech,” adding rebuttals to pro-life arguments, and removing Cardinal John O’Connor’s name from the conference.
This push arrives after the Supreme Court’s 2022 Dobbs decision returned abortion policy to the states, intensifying pressure campaigns around schools and hospitals with religious commitments.
