By Steve Weatherbe

A UNIVERSITY pro-life club has announced an out-of-court settlement in its protracted dispute with the school’s student society.

Youth Protecting Youth (YPY) has claimed the settlement as a victory in its fight for the right to advocate its cause at the University of Victoria (UVic).

YPY had attracted censure by putting up posters, bringing in speakers who talked about the health risks of abortion and showing a graphic video of an abortion in progress.

Responding to a lawsuit launched by YPY and the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, the board of directors of the UVic Students’ Society (UVSS) voted in June to reinstate the club with full funding.

The newly-elected board even voted to pay the $719 that previous boards had denied the club over the past two years, on the pretext that its pro-life messaging constituted harassment of pregnant co-eds.

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 In a July 19 press release, YPY proclaimed that its fight with UVic had ended.

“After two and a half months of consultation, the legal conflict between the University of Victoria’s pro-life club, Youth Protecting Youth, and the University of Victoria Students’ Society has come to a conclusion,” YPY stated.

UVSS, it added, “has recognized YPY as a club, granted it funding for the summer semester . . . and eliminated policy additions that had targeted pro-life advocacy . . .  YPY welcomes these developments that recognize the right to free speech at UVic.”

Club president Anastasia Pearse stated: “This is a great victory for YPY. We interpret the UVSS’ concessions as an admission of wrongdoing, and we’re happy with the new direction it’s taking.”

Further, YPY “is pleased that the B.C. Civil Liberties Association, which has generously acted in support of the club’s free speech, has been granted intervener status in the lawsuit, and will be intervening should the lawsuit need to be revived.”

August 2010