In honor of Genocide Awareness Month, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform erected 20-foot posters of graphic abortion images as part of its Genocide Awareness Campaign on the Free Speech Lawn Tuesday.
Brett Waterfield, the director of student life and development at California State University, Long Beach, said that the school must remain content neutral when allowing students to host events on campus.
“The genocide awareness event is sponsored by a student organization here on campus,” Waterfield said. “We have to support the students’ first amendment rights to express their views… we have to respect our students’ voices and opinions and beliefs and so forth.”
In order for such an event to be approved, a registered student organization must ensure that appropriate time, place, approval and manner regulations are followed. The Catholic Newman club hosted CBR.
In 2006, the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals established that public universities could reasonably control the time, place and manner of expression on campus to allow the maximum flow of ideas so university students and faculty can push the sociological edges of culture forward.
“We want to educate students about abortion,” Kevin Olivier, the director of operations for the CBR, said. “To let them know it is an act of violence that decapitates and dismembers human beings. The pictures provide evidence for our claim.”
The annual campaign features large, graphic images of fetuses and the abortion process and has been met with mixed feedback from students.
“I feel like picture of weird fetuses… I feel like that is very disgusting to have that, and it’s not an effective strategy,” said Andres Lopez, a sophomore film major and volunteer for the counter-protest by the United for Reproductive and Gender Equity club. “It’s kind of like fear mongering.”
The signs and photos are graphically detailed with the intentions of getting students’ attention, said Christopher Page, vice president of the CNC.
“Human beings… are killed and then sucked out in pieces… and its perfectly legal…” Page said. “We have to get everyone’s attention, and these signs are appropriate.”
URGE plans to protest the Genocide Awareness Campaign for as long as they choose to stay at CSULB.
“Our goal is to get them banned from campus because of how uncomfortable it makes people feel,” said Karina Sarabia, a sophomore English education major and board member for URGE.
The CBR will be protesting abortion on the free speech lawn in front of the campus bookstore until Wednesday at 4 p.m.
““Our goal is to get them banned from campus because of how uncomfortable it makes people feel,” said Karina Sarabia, a sophomore English education major and board member for URGE.”
Very very noble. It will save future trauma to the poor sensitive liberals who are more comfortable not knowing what so-called “Choice” looks like. Of course, I’ve got to imagine it’s also a little uncomfortable having scissors plunged into your head, like the babies being eliminated do.
I suppose the main factor is the selfishness of one’s perspective.
I agree. People don’t like to see the truth behind reality. What can I say, the truth hurts and everyone wants to ignore the reality of it. As far as rape goes, all my adopted friends tell me, ” I love my biological mother, because at least she gave me life.” I feel bad for women who have been sexually assaulted but abortion is not the only choice. There are many families willing to adopt a baby and give them a loving home. The only reason women feel the need to have an abortion is due to our society, pregnancy is now seen as a taboo. As a woman, I do have the right to my own body but I do NOT have the right to choose whether another human being can live. Don’t we have the human right to LIFE, Liberty and Happiness? Most women who have an abortion find out they are pregnant after the first month they miss their period. A human’s heart starts beating 2 weeks after fertilization. How can someone end the heartbeat of a human being just like that. Yes save our forest, save our whales, save our puppies but what about saving a human being!!!????
But WHY do those pictures make us uncomfortable??? They are not fake. The pictures show what occurs when the live of a human being becomes a CHOICE. The purpose of the pictures are to make us question: where do we stand on the matter of abortion? The pictures depict the reality of abortion which is not always what people want to see because who would like to see a human being killed? Does the pictures makes me feel digust? Yes for murder! And that its legal to do this every day and yet we are brainwashed to think that its an ethical choice!