Anti-abortion, abortion rights

By Genevieve Schlosser
schlosse@mscd.edu

   Some see Justice for All as a crude and insensitive organization, but that is not the way it sees itself.
   The nonprofit organization, started by ex-pastor David Lee in the 1990s, travels the country displaying huge, graphic pictures of aborted fetuses on college campuses when invited by students.
   Four Auraria students formed an organization last year in order to invite Justice for All to the campus. Each of them spent time volunteering at the display and volunteers from Focus on the Family came to help.
   “ There was some hostility,” said current club secretary Elizabeth Baker, in regard to people who would occasionally walk by and shout angry things.
   “ The point is not to get in an argument with them, but to divert that hostility into a discussion” about people’s views and ideas about abortion, Baker said.
   “ I think a lot of people don’t know exactly what abortion entails,” Baker said.
   Justice for All believes if people see the realities of abortion and begin discussing the issue and asking questions, it may change opinions and save lives.
   The billboards and volunteers provide information about the alternatives to abortion, if students are able to get past what may be perceived as disturbing images.
   “ Maybe there is a woman who is thinking about having an abortion, and, if she sees what it’s really about, she might change her mind and start looking for a family to adopt her baby,” Baker said.
   When Justice for All was at Auraria at the end of September, the club provided “Free Speech Walls” for passing students to write on. People expressed opinions from all over the spectrum: from anger, to agreement, to other political issues.
   “ People may not want to come up and say something, but they will write what they think,” Baker said.
   Justice for All can only visit the same campus once every year and a half. The current president and vice president of the Auraria club that organized the past visit will be graduated and gone by the next time the organization is allowed to return.
   The Auraria chapter of Justice for All are currently rearranging and looking for new members. Baker will still be here and she plans to be involved.
   “ Unfortunately,” she said, “the truth can be graphic sometimes.”
   NARAL Pro-Choice Auraria tries to be active on campus in positive ways, participating in as many events that deal with the health and safety of women and the right to choose as possible.
   “ When Justice for All came (to campus in the fall) with their giant posters of aborted fetuses, we countered them,” said Natasha Lamoreux, NARAL Auraria club president.
   “ Groups like that thrive on conflict and confrontation,” Lamoreux said, so NARAL Auraria decided not to give it to them. Instead of throwing a counter demonstration, they stationed club members around campus wearing T-shirts that said things like “Angry” to draw people to them.
   They carried clipboards that students could sign to show their interest in getting involved in groups that oppose organizations like Justice for All.    Response was strong, according to Lamoreux, because many women on campus were upset and traumatized by the display.
   Currently, the club is focusing on the Prevention First campaign being run by NARAL Pro-Choice America. According to Lamoreux, 50 percent of unintended pregnancies end in abortion.
   The purpose of the campaign is to help prevent abortion by preventing unplanned pregnancies through education and easier access to birth control and emergency contraception.
   The group also attempts to get information out to people about legislation relating to abortion rights on both state and national levels.
   The focus is on Colorado House Bill 1212, which would allow pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription from a doctor.
   Although this is only the first year NARAL Pro-Choice has been active on Auraria, they already have a list of 33 people who participate in the club Lamoreux herself helped to start.
   Lamoreux has been volunteering off and on for NARAL since she was in middle school and she recently interned for them, which sparked her decision to bring a chapter of the organization to Auraria.
   “ Our campus was missing a strong pro-choice presence,” she said.
   Students interested in volunteering can email Lamoreux at prochoiceauraria@yahoo.com.