I may be pro-life but I don’t support the graphic photos on campus today
‘Repulsion does not make people agree with you’
I grew up in Catholic school. From when I was five until I was 18, I was surrounded by “abortion is a sin,” “abortion is murder” and “the baby you’re killing could cure cancer.” A famous line from “Horton Hears a Who!” was constantly quoted to me: “A person is a person, no matter how small.” And while cute, it gets annoying after 10 years.
It may sound like I was forced to be pro-life, but it wasn’t until I attended my first March for Life in Washington, DC with my youth group that I made the decision on my own. Yes, I did go to Catholic school, but they never once gave me the real facts about abortion – about how what many consider a “fetus” is actually a tiny, adorable baby inside of you. So I chose to go on the march, and I will forever be grateful for that first trip that changed my life.
I understand being pro-choice. I absolutely do. I definitely consider a lot of my other beliefs to be “feminist” in nature. I am a registered independent, but I consider myself pretty much a Democrat. I am Catholic, but I am a million percent for LGBTQ rights. Being pro-life comes with a lot of negative connotations, and my goal is to try and dispel them.
The graphic, disgusting pictures on the quad today are not helping those negative connotations. They are absolutely horrendous. I remember my youth group leader always telling us to look away when certain groups at the march put up graphic images such as these.
I understand what they’re attempting to do, but it doesn’t work. In fact, It does the opposite. Repulsion does not make people agree with you, especially educated students at UNC. It causes fear and hatred and unwillingness.
The signs go so far as to show dismembered, bloody body parts, and I just cannot condone that. As I passed the set up, a school on a field trip was staring blankly at all the photos while the leader said: “Children do not need to see something like this.”
UNC student Sam Blink bought some cardboard from the Student Stores and made a sign to express his beliefs. While putting up his sign, a university employee went so far as to say: “You have my express permission to put that on the bin.”
Finally, I feel as if I should make it clear that being pro-life does not just mean being anti-abortion. It encompasses a wide variety of things that many don’t even realize. I don’t consider the images today to be pro-life because they are hurting the lives of students who are unfortunate enough to walk by.
So when you’re walking through the quad today, I suggest not looking up.
There is a free speech board behind the setup if you would like to express your opposition to the graphic display. If you’d like to write an argument piece for The Tab UNC, fill out this form.