College cancels Meacham talk over Planned Parenthood ties

By JAY REEVES
Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (AP) — A conservative Christian university in Alabama has withdrawn an invitation for Pulitzer Prize-winning historian Jon Meacham to speak during inaugural activities for its new president. Samford University in suburban Birmingham announced the cancellation of Meacham’s appearance after an online petition cited his speeches to Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion and other medical care for women. Samford’s new president, Beck A. Taylor, wrote in a letter posted on the school’s website that Meacham had planned to focus on the state of civility and discourse in the United States. Meacham won the Pulitzer for his biography of President Andrew Jackson and his bestsellers include “The Hope of Glory,” which examines the final sayings of Jesus.