Following criticism from a conservative Catholic watchdog group, Georgetown administrators removed links to local health clinics that offer abortion services and referrals from the Women’s Center Web site on Friday.

In a March 16 letter to University President John J. DeGioia, the Cardinal Newman Society, which monitors higher-education Catholic institutions, complained that links posted on the site were inconsistent with Catholic doctrine, which opposes abortion.

“The Women’s resource center had . health-related referral links, and among those links were several clinics that perform abortions,” Patrick Reilly, the president of the society, said. “We clearly thought that was inappropriate as a Catholic institution.”

“We are very happy that the links got down and hope that the university will continue to monitor that this . won’t happen again,” he added.

Todd Olson, vice president of student affairs, said that the decision to remove the links came after discussion with university leaders.

“We work actively [to] provide a broad array of resources and services in a manner that is consistent with our Catholic and Jesuit identity,” Olson said.

According to a report in LifeNews.com, a news agency that opposes abortion rights, the university sent a letter to the organization on April 21 announcing plans to remove the links, after deciding to temporarily close the site for revisions. Olson said that the newly updated Web site became available yesterday.

Reilly said that Catholic institutions should not do anything that would indicate pro-abortion messages.

“Catholic teaching is very clear on abortion. It’s a mortal sin,” he said. “There is no room for a Catholic institution in any official commitment or program to support [that] . abortion is okay.”

Reilly said that he believes that the university will now enforce stricter limits on its Web site’s content.

“I am quite sure that the leaders of Georgetown would not want” links to centers that perform abortions, Reilly said. “I think that they clearly demonstrated that this is the line that will not be crossed.”

Georgetown’s administration has come under fire for its position on abortion issues from both sides of the debate. Reilly noted that the organization sent a 36-page report two years ago to many Catholic and Jesuit institutions calling for the removal of activities that promote abortion on campus, but that the Georgetown did not respond.

In an on-campus speech in February, Reilly accused the university of ignoring its Catholic roots, pointing to the presence of numerous speakers on campus who support abortion rights.

On the other side of the divide, H*yas for Choice, a student group that advocates abortion rights, is denied recognition and access to university benefits. The group began a renewed petition for recognition earlier this month after alleging that the university infringed upon its right to demonstrate on campus.

Molly Tafoya (COL ’07), a board member for H*yas for Choice, said that she is “embarrassed” at Georgetown’s response to the society’s letter. She added that the university has an obligation to provide information to students that may be important to their well-being.

“Keeping [students] healthy and informed about sexual health issues is much more in line with Catholic identity than taking this information away because it may be linked to abortion issues,” she said.