Abortion Protests Ignite Student Emotions

Unless you missed school all week, it would have been difficult to miss the anti-abortion exhibit in front of the main library.  Several enlarged images quickly captured the attention of those walking past, including pictures of aborted fetuses, body piles of Holocaust victims, and the KKK jeering underneath a man hanging from a tree.  Until the display was taken down Wednesday afternoon, amid cheers and shouts from students, pro-choice and pro-life activists gathered with their posters, signs, and rallies to voice their opinions over an issue that clearly has many in the UH community divided. 

WHY ABORTION IS GENOCIDE read the pamphlets that were handed out by a group of volunteers, members of the recently created student organization Cougars for Life.  Member Alana Campbell, junior, explained the organization was hosting the photo-mural exhibit on behalf of the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP), which visits university campuses nationwide and is one of the many projects of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR), an anti-abortion educational corporation.  On their website, CBR states it is working to establish prenatal justice and the right to life for the unborn.  Founded in July of 1990, CBR operates on the principle that abortion represents an evil so inexpressible that words fail to describe its horror. Until abortion is seen, they claim, it will never be understood. 

In addition to passing out pamphlets advocating the position that abortion is comparable to genocide (for more information visit www.abortionNO.org), GAP sets up numerous graphic displays in a public square, placing abortion images alongside images of historically recognized forms of genocide.  The purpose is to not only get individuals to think about abortion in a broader historical context, but “to show people what really happens to unborn children when they choose abortion,” Alana explained.  Although the pictures invoked incendiary reactions from students, senior and member of Cougars for Life Franklin Romero believed that without knowing the name of the organization responsible for the pictures, the protestors were taking the message out of context. “If you look at this in respect to genocide…the KKK killed thousands of African-Americans, the Nazis killed millions of Jews, and Planned Parenthood has contributed to the murder of millions of unborn children. In that respect they are all united – they all have committed mass murder and that’s why we have those three pictures,” he said.

Others, however, disagreed with such visual tactics.  Senior Will Deese believed the prominent display of such “horribly graphic” images is simply “playing with people’s emotions…they’re saying the Nazis are bad, the KKK is bad, and so Planned Parenthood must be bad too. Personally, I believe that the government shouldn’t be telling private citizens what to do with their bodies.”  Senior Victoria Stockwell, although willing to tolerate the images of aborted fetuses, similarly disagreed with the comparison of abortion to genocide. “I think the pro-life demonstration has every right to express their views and we’re out here providing an alternative to those views because we consider women’s sexual and reproductive health very seriously,” she said. “But when you compare women who have abortions to genocide, to the killings of blacks, to the killings of Jews, to the KKK, to the SS, that’s when I have an issue because it is stigmatizing women who have made the choice to have an abortion.”

Tension quickly rose late Wednesday afternoon as workers prepared to take down the pictures.  While protestors booed, cheered, and chanted, shouts of “Toxic Propaganda!” and “Take them off our campus!” could be heard among the swarm of students surrounding the display.  As heated debates ensued (in some cases almost escalating to physical confrontations) many expressed their own views on the subject, although often conflicted with regard to pregnancy as a result of rape or incest.  “The reason why I’m against [abortion] so much is this,” sophomore Omar Saiyed shared. “I understand that these women make the argument that [the fetus] is part of their body, but at the same time we cannot ignore the potential life of the fetus itself…we have no right to decide what has the right to live and what doesn’t….but if the woman was indeed raped…I don’t really know what to say about that.  Ideally she should go through with the birth and give [the baby] up for adoption, but those cases are different and special.  I’m not really referring to rape when I’m voicing my opinion out here.  I’m talking about consensual relationships.” 

Senior Jessica Crowl describes herself as “pro-choice to a limit.” “I think it’s a woman’s right,” she said. “A woman should have the choice to abort a pregnancy [if she was raped]…why would you want a constant reminder of something that’s happened to you?  But I think if you’re in a committed relationship with someone you should go through with it unless there are other circumstances, such as if the baby is a hazard to your health.” 

Despite the number of students divided over whether or not to support abortion in particular circumstances, a considerable amount were unwilling to alter their view that no matter what the conditions may be abortion is always wrong.  “Personally, I believe no, in no instance should it be done. But that’s me,” Romero said. “An abortion is murder, the taking of a life with malicious intent.  Nobody has the right to take a life.” Fellow Cougars for Life member agreed with Romero’s statement.  “I believe that from the moment we come into existence as a human being we have a right to life that no one can take away from us,” Campbell claimed. “Abortion is taking away that unborn child’s right to life. We don’t have the right to decide whether they live or die.  That’s not our decision to make.”

Although an undoubtedly controversial exhibit, some UH students appeared to appreciate the opportunity to express their opinion on an issue as divisive as abortion.  “I think [the display] is good because it raises awareness in our community, in our university,” Saiyed said. “A lot of the time you just go from class to class not really thinking about the choices we make in life, but these things are really important.  A lot of good comes from it.  The point is to come out here, voice your opinion, know what’s going on, and be involved.  That’s why you come out here and talk about these kinds of things.”