- Feb 5, 2002
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A student pro-life group who met at the University of Manchester required police intervention due to a hostile crowd of up to 250 people that surrounded the building where the meeting took place.
The student pro-life group, Manchester Pro-Life Society, met for a talk on the evening of 1 March. The harassment began as soon as students tried to access the building hosting the event. Eggs were thrown at windows, while students who arrived to attend the event were subject to “a torrent of verbal abuse and threats”, reports Right to Life UK.
The intimidation escalated to a point where the police arrived in order to enable the pro-life students to enter the building. As students left the event, they had to proceed through a tunnel of protesters held back by police as the air reverberated with chanting: “Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!” The pro-life students were spat at and threatened with physical abuse, including one female first-year student being told to “get raped”. Some members of the crowd then pursued the students while shouting and swearing at them.
“If it wasn’t for the police and security, people would have definitely been physically hurt,” says Jacob, treasurer of Manchester Pro-Life Society. “It made me feel intimidated and threatened. I was genuinely afraid that we would get hurt physically.”
A heavily pregnant 22-year-old woman had to be escorted home in a police van due to concerns for her safety.
“I really thought our lives were in danger,” says Maisie, the expectant mother and an alumna of the university. She describes the scene as follows:
“Leaving the building was the most terrifying part, we were surrounded and people were screaming in our faces. I knew that it would only take one person to push into me for me to fall and be crushed. It was traumatic, I was shaking the whole time and I’m still really shaken up. I really thought our lives were in danger. The crowd was extremely violent – spitting, throwing eggs, screaming and swearing. There were around 30 of us, and 300 of them. Most of them had their faces covered.”
Continued below.
catholicherald.co.uk
The student pro-life group, Manchester Pro-Life Society, met for a talk on the evening of 1 March. The harassment began as soon as students tried to access the building hosting the event. Eggs were thrown at windows, while students who arrived to attend the event were subject to “a torrent of verbal abuse and threats”, reports Right to Life UK.
The intimidation escalated to a point where the police arrived in order to enable the pro-life students to enter the building. As students left the event, they had to proceed through a tunnel of protesters held back by police as the air reverberated with chanting: “Shame on you! Shame on you! Shame on you!” The pro-life students were spat at and threatened with physical abuse, including one female first-year student being told to “get raped”. Some members of the crowd then pursued the students while shouting and swearing at them.
“If it wasn’t for the police and security, people would have definitely been physically hurt,” says Jacob, treasurer of Manchester Pro-Life Society. “It made me feel intimidated and threatened. I was genuinely afraid that we would get hurt physically.”
A heavily pregnant 22-year-old woman had to be escorted home in a police van due to concerns for her safety.
“I really thought our lives were in danger,” says Maisie, the expectant mother and an alumna of the university. She describes the scene as follows:
“Leaving the building was the most terrifying part, we were surrounded and people were screaming in our faces. I knew that it would only take one person to push into me for me to fall and be crushed. It was traumatic, I was shaking the whole time and I’m still really shaken up. I really thought our lives were in danger. The crowd was extremely violent – spitting, throwing eggs, screaming and swearing. There were around 30 of us, and 300 of them. Most of them had their faces covered.”
Continued below.
‘Terrified’ pro-life student group needs police protection from baying mob at Manchester University - Catholic Herald
In a disturbing incident at the University of Manchester, a student pro-life group faced intense hostility during their meeting. The Manchester Pro-Life Society convened for a talk on March 1, only to encounter a crowd of up to 250 people surrounding the building where the event was held.As...
catholicherald.co.uk
