News

Anti-abortion display draws conflicting responses

By Heather Embrey
hembrey@mscd.edu

As students file out of their classrooms, they dart across campus and pass the anti-abortion exhibit set up by the Justice for All organization.

Some students stop and stand around the 18-foot-tall display, shielding their eyes from the sun to get a better look at the images and messages. Other students walk past quickly and simply glance at the pictures.

"We shouldn't be here looking at these pictures," said Metro sophomore Spencer Essey, who was protesting the exhibit, saying women should have the right to choose and that if abortion were illegal, women would forced into "back-alley abortions."

Justice for All is an anti-abortion activist organization that brings its message to college and university campuses through the assistance of their traveling exhibit. The display was set up from Sept. 29 to Oct. 4 near the flagpole area on campus.

Metro junior Katie Alimonos said the exhibit was hard for her to look at because she is 20 weeks pregnant and had just begun to feel the baby kick.

"It scares me to think about it (abortion) being illegal," Alimonos said.

Justice for All claims that aborting fetuses during a pregnancy propagates inhumane, genocidal behavior against unborn children. Its mission is to create debate, change hearts and save lives. They say that, with their exhibit, they can do just that.

Justice for All brings in volunteers from all over the country to speak with onlookers wherever the exhibit is on display. Focus on the Family, a conservative Christian organization out of Colorado Springs, sent many of its students to Auraria for the weekend.

One volunteer estimated that 70 to 75 volunteers were dispersed throughout the crowd at any given time.

Metro junior Mike Tinker argued with a Justice for All volunteer about the definition of a human being.

"Their whole motive is to incite debate," Tinker said.

Many students voiced their opinions on Freedom of Speech boards, which were erected on two sides of the display. Here, anyone was allowed to post comments, expressing their views on the First Amendment, the display itself and abortion issues in general.

Comments ranged from, "Women are intelligent enough to make their own decisions," to "It's horrible, absolutely-but should the baby be harmed for the mistake of the father?" to "Smile, your mom chose life."

Auraria Campus police officers kept watch as students engaged in discussions among themselves and with the organizers. The officers were there to make sure the peaceful protests stayed peaceful.

As time passed, fewer and fewer officers were needed to keep the peace. While nearly 10 officers were present on Sept. 29 only one was in the area on Oct. 4.

Metro junior Jess Lang said he was torn between the message and its presentation.

"I'm torn between the horror of what you are looking at and the necessity of the reality that it exists," Lang said. "If we as a nation really cared, we would choose to both educate our kids and the kids who raise them."

For most students, this display was an annual exhibit and part of college life as something to think and debate about. However, for freshmen and returning graduate students, the Justice for All demonstration was completely new.

"It seems like controversy is the only thing we can agree upon in this country," Lang said.

UCD student Ross Swirling said he was concerned that the organization was portraying the wrong message. He said he believed that pamphlets in a controlled setting would have been more appropriate than 18-foot-tall public displays.

"There is a much more respectful way of showing your view," Swirling said.