Bristol Palin's Washington University Appearance Canceled Amid Protests

Bristol Palin will not be speaking about abstinence at Washington University in St. Louis next month.

The university said in an e-mailed statement, "The student group that invited Bristol Palin...has mutually agreed with her not to proceed with a contract regarding Palin's participation in a panel discussion at Washington University on Feb. 7."

The university's Student Health Advisory Committee invited Palin, who became a single mother at 18 and is now a spokeswoman for the prevention of teen pregnancy, to speak on abstinence during Washington University's student Sexual Responsibility Week. That week will focus on creating an open sexual dialogue on campus.

Students started a protest via Facebook to halt Palin's appearance, which would have been paid for with student-generated funds. It had been reported that she would receive between $15,000 and $30,000 to speak.

A Facebook group called "Keep Bristol Palin out of the sex discussion at Washington University" said, "It's not about conservative or liberal, it's about not wasting our money on people who don't matter...especially people who are only famous for being the teenage pregnant daughter of a politician. That is not a credential -- it's a gimmick. So reach across the aisle -- and stand up and say something."

That group also launched a petition as did the university's College Democrats.

Palin, who was a finalist on last year's "Dancing With The Stars," is an ambassador for The Candie's Foundation, which aims to prevent teen pregnancy.

Last week, Palin appeared at a charity fundraiser in Texas that benefitted the nonprofit Central Texas Orphan Mission Alliance, which takes an anti-abortion stance. Sarah Palin also appeared last week in Texas for a fundraiser for Lubbock Christian School.

The university said in its statement that Dr. Katie Plax, head of adolescent medicine and associate professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Washington University School of Medicine, would participate on the panel instead of Palin.