Pro–Life Groups Protest Abortion on Campuses

Special Report - October 22, 2008
Pro-life student groups at North Carolina State University (NCSU) and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) are sponsoring a bold and controversial traveling abortion exhibit on campus this week. Provided by the group Justice For All (JFA), the display consists of 15 panels 18 feet high each with graphic pictures of aborted children in an attempt to “explore when human life begins, review abortion facts, and question arguments for maintaining the status quo.” Each of the three sides of the display focuses on 1) The Humanity of the Unborn Child, 2) The Inhumanity of Abortion, or 3) Do No Harm. The exhibit is meant to spark dialogue on college campuses across the United States. Trained JFA employees travel with the exhibit to talk and, mostly, listen to observers. Local volunteers also go through training to prepare themselves to have compassionate and constructive dialogues with observers. The emphasis is on dialogue, not debate. Local pregnancy resource centers also host a table at each event to make students aware of community pregnancy resources that are available.

The exhibit was at NCSU Monday and Tuesday and at UNC Wednesday and Thursday. Event staff said they were impressed with the level of interest and dialogue experienced at NCSU during just the first day of the event. In the past eight years, JFA exhibits have traveled to more than 60 universities, impacting over 250,000 college students. “Students are typically shocked to see the photos of the Exhibit showing the victims of abortion,” according to JFA. “Injustice is hardly ever visually appealing. Yet, some injustices have to be seen if they are to be believed. Sadly, many complain about seeing the pictures of abortion more than they protest the violence of abortion itself.”

Also on October 21, pro-lifers across the world celebrated Pro-Life Day of Silent Solidarity to bring attention to the over 43 million children who have been silenced by abortion since the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling. Most of the participants are high school and college students. In North Carolina, students at 180 schools participated in the event by taking a vow of silence for the day, wearing a red armband, and/or placing red duct tape with the word “life” over their mouths. During the day, students also distributed fliers that explained their silence and provided information on the “plight of the innocent children.”

In related news, the national 40-Days for Life campaign continues through November 2 in 170 cities and 45 states across the nation. In North Carolina, volunteers in Alexander County, Charlotte, Greensboro/High Point, Raleigh, and Winston-Salem continue to pray, fast, and keep peaceful vigil at abortion clinics with the hope of “bringing an end to abortion in America.”

Copyright © 2008. North Carolina Family Policy Council. All rights reserved.