As most schools wrap up the fall semester and 2023 comes to an end, ‘tis the season for looking back — and as we do so, we remember all the free speech trials the Pro-Life Generation had to bravely face when exercising their First Amendment rights. From the very beginning of the year to even just recently, Students for Life of America (SFLA) groups have had to weather a variety of censorship when speaking up for the preborn and vulnerable women. Brace yourself — here are our top ten worst violations from this year:  

1. Virginia Commonwealth University  

Antifa, assault, and abuse of free speech were the order of the night when SFLA President Kristan Hawkins visited Virginia Commonwealth University as a stop on her speaking tour in the 2023 spring semester. Despite hosting a peaceful event and even telling protestors they could take the microphone to ask questions in lieu of Hawkins giving her speech, the angry abortion lobby would not be placated. Multiple pro-lifers were injured, resulting in police arrests and emergency medical services being called for assistance.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “NEW DETAILS: Arrests Made & EMTs Called In Night of Antifa and Transgender Violence at VCU.”  

2. Onondaga Community College 

Enraged abortion supporters surrounded SFLA team member Savannah Craven when she was attempting to demonstrate the extreme loss of preborn life due to Planned Parenthood in the 2023 fall semester — and even the police escorting her off campus for her safety didn’t stop the craziness. Instead, her property was stolen, and students actually leapt onto the police vehicle she was protected inside.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “Abortion Supporters Mobbed Me, Ate a Preborn Baby Model, & Jumped on the Police Car I Escaped In.”  

3. Hunter College  

It’s never boring in New York City, especially when a violent, pro-abortion professor takes out her anger on a SFLA display. In the spring 2023 semester, an instructor at Hunter College went ballistic on pro-life students hosting a SFLA tabling event, verbally abusing them before destroying their property. And it got even crazier after SFLA broke the news, and New York Post reporters showed up to the professor’s house to discuss the incident — she actually chased them off with a machete!   

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “SFLA Calls on Hunter College to Dismiss Out-of-Control Professor Caught on Camera Harassing Pro-Life Students.”  

4. Binghamton University  

We’re a little worried about the abortion lobby’s diet after an incident at Binghamton University included abortion supporters ingesting plastic to prove their hatred for life. When models of preborn babies went missing at the SFLA table, pro-life students spoke with the abortion supporters present who confirmed they had in fact eaten them.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “Fetal Models Aren’t Food: Abortion Lobby Hates Reality of Life in the Womb So Much They SWALLOWED Our Fetal Models.”  

5. University of New Mexico  

Free speech is truly priceless — but the University of New Mexico (UNM) apparently figured out a way to charge for it. After the SFLA group on campus hosted Hawkins to come and speak, their administration sent them a bill to the tune of more than $8,000 for security. That’s quite the sum to come unannounced to a bunch of college students.   

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “University Slaps $8,000 Price Tag on SFLA President Kristan Hawkins Event.”  

6. Marquette High School  

At this public high school, when pro-life students attempted to start a SFLA group on campus, they were told perhaps the lamest excuse ever by administrators in order to block their formation: “It just doesn’t feel right.” Who said feelings had anything to do with the First Amendment? After SFLA sent a legal demand letter, this decision was reversed.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “Did Someone Forget the First Amendment? Public High School Denies SFLA Group Because It Didn’t “Feel Right.”  

7. University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill  

Taking a page from UNM’s book, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill sent the campus SFLA group a large bill following Hawkins’ speech on campus. Security was once again the excuse for demanding thousands of dollars.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “UNC-Chapel Hill Appears to Choke Pro-Life Free Speech with Excessive, Discriminatory Fees After Kristan Hawkins’ Tour Stop.”  

8. Campbell University  

Intimidation is a common tactic used by the abortion lobby in their attempts to shut down pro-life free speech, and SFLA student leader and intern Lydia Taylor certainly faced this earlier this year. Quite used to being treated poorly in-person for her life-affirming beliefs, Taylor was also subjected to intense online bullying for standing up for the preborn.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “Pro-Abortion Bullying Happens Online & In-Person — This Pro-Life Student Has Gotten More Than 20,000 Negative Messages.”    

9. Christopher Newport University 

Sadly, intimidation also includes stalking — which is exactly what one SFLA leader experienced when a man pretending to be her friend actually lied in order to gain access to her dorm room at Christopher Newport University. This creepy story is unfortunately just another in the litany of weird things abortion supporters do to pro-life students.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “In Her Own Words: Pro-Life Group President Stalked By Pro-Abortion Student.”  

10. Bowling Green State University 

The SFLA group at Bowling Green State University has experienced direct sparring with a pro-abortion club on campus, as their rabid members continue to harass them both in-person and online. It wasn’t until the ghoulish group began doxing pro-lifers and spreading falsehoods about them online, however, that their school finally (and rather pathetically) intervened.  

To read more about this violation of free speech, click HERE to read a SFLA blog on the incident entitled “Pro-Abortion Bullying & Lack of School Support Is Rough but We’re Not Backing Down.”  

Unfortunately, these are just a handful of the different kinds of free speech violations that SFLA team members and students have had to face in 2023 — but regardless of whatever is thrown at us, the Pro-Life Generation is staying strong for life. That means staying fearless in persecution and fighting back when our First Amendment rights are being trampled on. Needless to say, the SFLA legal team has stayed very busy this year.  

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