"Health Sciences Center and Texas Tech University system spokespeople didn't return Inside Higher Ed's requests for comment Thursday on who within the institution decided to nix the speech, but the Health Sciences Center sent a statement to the Scorecard saying the center "evaluated the request and determined that it is not in the best interest of the university to host this event on campus.""
"Preston Parsons, president of the wider Texas Tech chapter of Turning Point USA and a Texas Tech University freshman, told Inside Higher Ed that his group, alongside "extremely pro-life" advocates in Lubbock, urged leaders of the university system-including system chancellor Brandon Creighton-to stop the speech. Before becoming chancellor in September, Creighton was a Republican state senator who successfully pushed sweeping statewide higher ed overhauls, and in 2017 he sponsored a bill "designed to prevent doctors from encouraging abortions," according to The Texas Tribune. Parsons said, "This wasn't a suppression of free speech." Texas has a near-total ban on abortion, and Lubbock, where the Health Sciences Center is headquartered, has its own restrictions. "She would be speaking on government property, supporting an illegal activity," Parsons said. He said Sella is welcome to speak "anywhere that isn't a government-funded building.""
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center canceled a planned campus talk by a retired doctor who advocates for third‑trimester abortion access. Shelley Sella was scheduled to speak last Monday and describes herself as "the first woman to openly practice third‑trimester abortion care in the U.S." The Health Sciences Center stated it evaluated the request and determined it was not in the university's best interest to host the event. Turning Point USA chapter leaders and local pro‑life advocates urged university leaders, including Chancellor Brandon Creighton, to stop the event. Texas and Lubbock have strict abortion restrictions, and Creighton previously supported legislation aimed at preventing doctors from encouraging abortions. Preston Parsons said the cancellation was not suppression of free speech and suggested alternative non‑government venues for the talk.
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