In response to John W. Sanders’ letter published Oct. 29, 2009, we, the members of Saint Louis University’s Amnesty International chapter, wish to clarify a few points raised by Mr. Sanders on Amnesty International at SLU.
In the spring of 2007, Amnesty International as a global organization released a document defining its position on women’s sexual and reproductive rights. The position includes statements defending a woman’s right to an abortion in the case of rape, incest, sexual abuse and the health of the mother. This stance provoked a negative reaction by some members of the SLU community.
In response to this and in conjunction with Student Life and SLU’s administration, we changed our charter to include a statement that separates our chapter of Amnesty International from this position. The statement is copied below.
We, the local chapter of Amnesty International at Saint Louis University, recognize that the section in the international organization’s June 14, 2007 sexual reproductive rights policy expressing support for abortion under certain circumstances is not compatible with Saint Louis University’s Jesuit mission and runs counter to Catholic teaching. Accordingly, as Saint Louis University’s chapter of Amnesty International, we will not engage in any campaign or activity which advocates or promotes abortion. And we commit ourselves, as Saint Louis University’s Amnesty International chapter, to the promotion of human rights by focusing on issues such as the death penalty, gender violence and torture.
Mr. Sanders accusation that Amnesty International SLU promotes abortion is false. The publishing of this letter in The University News could impede our work on campus to protect human rights in many capacities, and as we strongly encourage anyone writing a letter to the editor to research the facts surrounding his or her argument before putting pen to paper.

—Amnesty International