Anti-abortion group distorts message with photographs

Salena De La Cruz
Say it loud
May 02, 2003

During the lunch hour on Wednesday, I nearly lost what little I had in my stomach. No, it wasn't from undercooked chicken or bad milk. Like many of you, I walked by the EMU Amphitheater and was blinded by blood and body parts of babies.

I'll lay my stance down right now. No, I don't agree with abortion. No, I would never choose to have an abortion. But it is the right of every woman in this country to choose whether or not they have one.

When the anti-abortion group Survivors bombarded the EMU with very disturbing photographs of aborted babies, I believe they were taking away the rights of many people -- the right of whether or not they want to look at these forms of expression.

Survivors director Dan McCullough said, "We are simply using images to show abortion is wrong. Our message is that abortion is the murder of innocent children and it needs to stop" ("Anti-abortion group repulses students," ODE, May 1).

Oh, so that was the message. I thought it was how to lose weight in 30 seconds or less -- just look at the pictures. This is a serious issue; I'm not trying to joke about it, but for me, their message was lost. How can you speak out when no one is listening because of what you are showing? Next time, get personal, not up in our faces.

What disturbs me is that I was not given notice. There was no sign to warn me of graphic images. Yes, I am adult. Yes, I could have looked away. But I would hope that this organization, or any organization, could use a little tact when trying to get its message across.

I commend the women who came out as part of Survivors, having had abortions themselves, wanting to be heard. We heard them, and we very surely saw them. But I wonder if they got the reaction they were looking for.

Yes, I walked by and felt sick to my stomach. Yes, I didn't eat for nearly three hours after seeing those images, and yes, those images will haunt me for a very long time because I did not get to choose whether or not to see them.

However, the images won't affect me in the long run, not because I'm against abortion, but because I think they lost what they were trying to say by shoving the images of aborted fetuses into the eyes of any and every passerby.

If I had children and they were walking by, would I want them to see those images? No, I think children and adults alike can be educated with words just as easily as with pictures. Those pictures were worth a thousand words, but mine were merely three: "Oh, my God!"

I'm all about freedom of speech and expression, but here on campus I think there should be more stringent rules as to what kind of images students can or should be affronted with.

Survivors, tell us about the comparisons you see between "Hitler's Holocaust and America's Holocaust." Tell us your own personal stories, cry for us, show us your pain. I would be a lot more willing to hear your message without the images stabilized by your feet.

I cry for the children in those images who lost their lives. I cry for the women who felt they had no options, or worse that abortion was their only option.

Mostly, though, I cry because the message that every life is sacred was lost in a distorted picture of blood and body parts.

http://www.dailyemerald.com/vnews/display.v/ART/2003/05/02/3eb290a5e1681?in_archive=1