Oxford Students for Life issued a statement expressing their surprise that the debate was canceled, since other debates on similar topics have been sponsored by the group and have been "conducted without a hitch." A member of OSFL, who has asked not to be named, told LifeSiteNews that after the Christ Church college censors refused to allow them to use their booked venue, they had still hoped to go ahead in a new location but there was not enough time, and the event was canceled on the morning of November 18, even as the speakers were arriving.

He told LifeSiteNews, "Whereas feminists used to complain that no opposing view was given [supporting] the opposite side in pro-life talks, here they are objecting to a debate even when the opposing side is given!"

The student said the college censors claimed that because the lecture theatre is in a residential part of the college, "the mob of protestors might have had the capacity to cause physical harm." It was also suggested that the debate could be "triggering" for students who have had abortions.

The debate, scheduled for Tuesday, was to have been between Brendan O'Neill, the popular columnist and editor of Spiked, who has since been heavily critical of the decision to cancel the event, and American historian Tim Stanley. The motion was to have been, "This House believes that abortion culture harms us all."

OSFL added, "Last year in Britain, over 185,000 abortions were carried out. What does this say about our national culture? Is it a sign of equality, or does it suggest we treat human life carelessly?" But the proposal to debate the moral value of abortion prompted howls of protest from self-described feminists in social media.

Brendan O'Neill has been outspoken in his criticism of the cancellation, calling the students involved in shutting it down representative of a new breed of "Stepford students," who are happy to trade their intellectual freedom to "feel comfortable" and ideologically unchallenged. "Heaven help any student who doesn't bow before the Stepford mentality."

O'Neill's response in the Spectator and the Telegraph has garnered much attention, since he was the one who was to have argued in favor of abortion in the debate, and he has published his intended speech for the Spectator.

Wrote O'Neill, in his Spectator piece, "At one of the highest seats of learning on Earth, the democratic principle of free and open debate, of allowing differing opinions to slog it out in full view of discerning citizens, has been violated, and students have been rebranded as fragile creatures, overgrown children who need to be guarded against any idea that might prick their souls or challenge their prejudices."

Both Christ Church College and Oxford University, said Neil Addison, a legal expert in religious discrimination, have "a legal duty" to "ensure that freedom of speech within the law is secured for members, students and employees of the establishment and for visiting speakers."

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