Professor starts pro-choice club
In 1973, the Supreme Court’s ruling in Roe v. Wade recognized that the decision whether to continue or end a pregnancy belongs to the individual, not the government.
Roe held the specific guarantee of “liberty” in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which protects individual privacy, including the right to abortion prior to fetal viability, according to the Center of Reproductive Right’s website.
Now, 49 years later, the Supreme Court overturned that right and gave each state the choice to deem abortion legal or illegal. Following the overturning, Texas Governor Greg Abbott issued a trigger law, that banned abortions with a few exceptions after the Court’s ruling. Naturally, people were upset about losing their right to bodily autonomy.
As a result of Abbott’s decision, Texas A&M University – Kingsville has started a pro-choice club, called Pro-Choice Javelinas and is advised by Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of History, Political Science and Philosophy Dr. Jeffrey Glick.
Following the May 2 leak of the Supreme Court’s decision, Glick stayed up to read the government document that claimed the court case would be overturned and knew he had to do something after teaching abortion ethics in his classes for 20 years.
“I felt obligated to do something, to actually create change in the law and politics surrounding the world,” Glick said. “My main goal is to teach students how to argue their case in a persuasive and rational way, in order to persuade others to agree with their position.”
Although it is a pro-choice club, it is non-partisan and does not advocate for any political party. The club believes abortion should be a protected right, up to a certain point in one’s pregnancy.
As of now, the club has approximately 20 members, with Anissa Hirle serving as club president, who believes her life experiences have pushed her in a direction where she wants to lead and inform.
“When Roe v. Wade was overturned, I was scared for my bodily autonomy,” Hirle said. “I want the club to become a place where people can be properly informed about abortion and can offer support to those who need it.”
Like Glick and Hirle, club member Francis Villareal knew what was going on with the Supreme Court and wanted to help in whichever way he could. This resulted in him joining the pro-choice club.
“I was a student here last semester when students rallied and protested against sexual assault on campus. Witnessing Roe v. Wade getting overturned was something I felt was unfair,” Villareal said. “I wanted to see what the club was about and what I could do to help.”
Pro-Choice Javelinas meet at 3 p.m. every Wednesday in Rhode Hall, Room 333. For more information about the club, contact Dr. Glick at jeffrey.glick@tamuk.edu.