By Dan Satherley
Members of the Auckland University Students' Association have voted to keep Pro-Life, an anti-abortion club, affiliated with the union.
The group, which claims to have over 400 members, was facing disaffiliation after complaints to AUSA it was harassing students and spreading misinformation about abortion.
A flyer distributed by Pro-Life on the university campus claimed abortion procedures can lead to death, infertility and mental health problems.
At a meeting today called by the AUSA for the purpose on voting whether to disaffiliate the club, students voted 227-125 in favour of keeping Pro-Life affiliated, with 12 abstentions.
Under criticism that the studies quoted in the pamphlet were out of date and not relevant to New Zealand, club president Amy Blowers – who wrote the pamphlet – said in front of the large crowd of students she stood by everything in it.
"I believe that women are smart enough to make up their own minds [on abortion]," said Ms Blowers.
Pro-Life president Amy Blowers addresses the crowd
Several students got up to speak before the vote, including AUSA women's rights officer Angela Smith, who said voting to disaffiliate Pro-Life would not be curtailing their freedom of speech.
"I for one don't want to be affiliated with a club that's pro-life… that wilfully misconstrues medical procedures in New Zealand in a way that's harmful to the public," she said, urging students to vote to disaffiliate the club.
AUSA clubs and societies representative Kit Haines said he was "on the fence… I don't know if I'm pro-life or pro-choice."
But, he added, being disaffiliated from AUSA didn't mean the club ceased to exist, it just meant they would lose access to AUSA-supplied benefits like room booking and funding.
"I wouldn't say losing this stuff is losing your freedom of speech," he said, adding that Pro-Life had never actually applied for any funding from AUSA.
A student who identified herself as Sophie agreed, saying: "Sorry to disappoint anyone who thought they'd be defending civil liberties – no one's actually being silenced here."
Another speaker, who identified himself as disabled, a member of Pro-Life and a teacher at the university, said he supported Pro-Life's right to publish their views "and feminists' right to say we're wrong".
Students vote on the motion to disaffiliate Pro-Life
Pro-Life says they were not informed of the complaint or given a chance to respond before the meeting was called.
The crowd cheered most speakers fairly evenly, the only boos coming when Ms Blowers said she stood by everything in the pamphlet.
Ms Blowers declined to comment when contacted by 3 News after the vote, and the group's spokesperson could not be reached.
3 News