According to Campus Reform, a sign that says “Abortion is Murder” was deemed prohibited “hate speech” by officials at Abilene Christian University (ACU) in Texas. The officials ordered a pro-life student group to remove the sign earlier this month.
The incident occurred on October 14th at the private Texas college during a tabling event held by the student organization ACU for Life. The contested sign read:
**Abortion is Murder. Disagree? Let’s talk.**
School officials demanded the removal of this sign, which expresses a basic conservative viewpoint, warning that failure to comply would result in disciplinary action.
LifeNews published videos documenting the interactions between the students and two university officials, John Mark Moudy, assistant director of student services, and Lyndi Felan, dean for retention and student success. Both Moudy and Felan labeled the sign as “hate speech.” Felan, seemingly dismissive of conservative values, adamantly stated, “You can’t have this!”
When the students asked for a definition of “hate speech,” Felan repeated the accusation, sparking debate over the increasingly popular and often debated term in today’s society.
Public information on ACU’s policies contains few mentions of “hate speech,” although the university acknowledges it as a serious violation. According to Campus Reform, the university’s Table Reservations page for students notes that activities are “subject to staff approval,” but provides no further detail.
Following the incident, Ryan Richardson, ACU’s vice president of student life, reportedly informed students that tabling events are not intended to encourage discussions on what he referred to as “controversial issues.”
In response to what many see as an attack on free speech, students have formed a new group called ACU for Free Speech and have begun circulating a petition advocating for free expression on campus.
Eventually, the university acknowledged that an “interaction” took place and stated, “The university has been supportive of the ACU for Life organization and has provided tremendous encouragement for their work.”
Interestingly, after Campus Reform published details about the incident, ACU contradicted its earlier stance by declaring, “To be clear, the university does not believe the sign represented hate speech.”
One can only hope that in the future, universities will focus less on policing speech and basic conservative viewpoints and more on fostering open dialogue among their students.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2025/11/abilene-christian-university-acu-calling-abortion-murder-is/