2005

In its third year of revived activity since the mid-1990s, UCT Students for Life Society has grown and become more established in the UCT community. This year the total membership was approximately 70, and if the support received throughout the year from members and many non-members is anything to go by, the future looks very promising for UCT’s contribution to the pro-life struggle. The most encouraging feature of this year was the increased involvement of those who were signed up as members of the society. Some of the year’s highlights included:

  • We participated in the 1st February protest outside Parliament on the 8th anniversary of the legalisation of abortion in SA.
  • Orientation Week Activity.  The O-Week stall was a point of contact with new members, and many students were educated and enlightened about the pro-life position. A massive double-sided trailer-banner was prominently displayed on Upper Campus, demonstrating clearly the humanity of the unborn.
  • A series of seminars, the LifeLessons, were devised and held specifically to equip members. Several outside experts in the medical and legal and counselling fields were invited to lead the LifeLessons sessions, including Dr Chris Warton, a senior lecturer in anatomy at UCT Medical School, and Norma Trautmann, director of the Pregnancy Help Centre in Wynberg
  • Social events. Members and other students got to chat and to know one another, and watched an educational video on the abolition of the slave trade in the British Empire.
  • Presentations at local schools including Rhodes, Thandokhulu and Rondebosch Boys’ High Schools. In these presentations members got the experience to test their oratory skills, and challenged school children to consider the importance of their own behaviour in respecting life in South Africa.
  • Parliamentary Lobbying: we have equipped and encouraged Parliamentarians to consider proposing amendments to the ‘Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act’ that has already resulted in the death of over 400 000 babies in South Africa. A memorandum from Students For Life was submitted to a representative of one of the opposition parties.
  • The ongoing campaign at UCT Medical School, where pamphlets were handed out and a poster displayed comparing the Nazi holocaust to the current abortion genocide. Reading material included articles such as, “Should medical students learn to kill?” and “Rights for unborn women”.
  • A regular electronic newsletter was used throughout the year to inform, educate and keep in contact with over 150 students.
  • A radio interview in which the aims and values of Students For Life were explained to a large audience across Western Cape.
  • A donation of “baby kits” to the value of R1000 to a pregnancy crisis centre, financed by members’ funds.