The brickyard was alive this week with images of the unborn. Sponsored by N.C. State’s Students for Life, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform erected an enormous circle of graphic posters meant to spur debates about abortion.
The posters depicted images of fetuses in hands and next to pocket change, abused children, a black person being lynched, and photos of historic and current genocides.
“Abortion is genocide!” seemed to be the main takeaway of the demonstration.
Fortunately, many reproductive rights advocates dedicated their time to forming as best they could a human wall in counter-protest against the disturbing images displayed on the public campus.
For the most part, people wanted to protest the unnecessary use of such graphic images. Protestors cited the images as triggering, meaning they were likely to induce severe anxiety. For instance, if someone had ever terminated a pregnancy and saw these images, they would trigger memories of the experience.
Others protested the vile spread of misinformation. The anti-abortion demonstrators preached from an out-of-date textbook copyrighted in 1998. The photos were either fake, manipulated or taken out of context, according to protestors.
Most if not all of the photos presented fetuses that were terminated late into the pregnancy, though 88 percent of abortions occur within the first trimester, which lasts 12 weeks.
Among this misinformation is the idea that abortion causes breast cancer. This is simply untrue, as will attest anyone with a basic knowledge of the female body.
Some may wonder why I, a man, am writing this column. Shouldn’t it be a woman? Yes, it should. But when dealing with anti-abortion rights, it’s not uncommon that a woman’s point of view might go dismissed. This was exemplified Wednesday when one of the demonstrators walked away from my female friend mid-conversation, saying to a female demonstrator, “You deal with her.” So take this as my utilizing my privileged voice as a white male for the greater good.
Let me clarify right now: pro-choice is not pro-abortion. No one wants an abortion. Pro-choice advocates recognize bodily autonomy and that a woman is capable of making her own decisions concerning her body.
Further, many protested the comparing abortion to genocide, and for good cause. Many may believe life starts at conception, as that outdated textbook states, “…human development begins when a sperm fertilizes an egg.” However, that is only human development. It does not mean the fetus is a full human. The zygote is alive, sure, but so is the sperm. Life—even the life of human cells—does not necessitate humanity.
If the fetus can’t survive without parasitically taking from its mother, then the precedence has to go to her. That’s how bodily autonomy works.
On top of that, comparing a medical procedure such as abortion to genocide is extremely insulting to those who have lived through genocide.
The fact is abortion needs to be legalized. Criminalizing a medical procedure will not stop the practice; it will only make it unsafe.
About 21.6 million unsafe abortions take place each year, resulting in the hospitalization of about 5 million women and the deaths of about 47,000, according to Ipas, a nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the safety of women who require abortions.
A whole host of reasons contributes to why people seek abortion. Pregnancy may threaten the mother’s life. The family or community, such as one that cuts welfare, won’t support her. The fetus may have an abnormality. Sexual violence may have resulted in an unwanted pregnancy.
Availability is not one of these reasons. Legalizing abortion will not lead to a rise in unprotected sex. An incomplete or abstinence-only sexual education—as many pro-lifers support—might, but legalizing abortion will not.
Pro-lifers, you are fighting a losing battle. Though our state assembly has passed a law practically restricting all abortions, it is clear you are grasping for straws. You use false information and exploit the supposedly sacred lives you claim to work to protect. You may think you are winning now, but you will lose. Everything you work for will be for naught.
Pro-choice advocates, especially in North Carolina, where 37 counties have no OB/GYN, it is important we understand what’s really at stake here. It’s not the life of a fetus, but the choice of a woman.
This is a war on women. We must all make sure to pick the right side. Apathy is not allowed.
Send your thoughts to Nicky at technician-viewpoint@ncsu.edu.
