Abortion. Let's be clear: whether you are pro-life or pro-choice, abortion is not regarded as a positive experience, it is not enjoyable or looked forward to, and it is not, not, not an easy decision to make.
Which is why I am so appalled at the University at Buffalo, a college I was moments ago proud to be a part of, for allowing the AbortionNO organization to park and display their horrific photographs in front of the Student Union on Monday, April 15.
For those of you who missed the Technicolor nightmare, AbortionNO began by parking a large truck across from Starbucks, plastered with a full-color picture of a third-trimester aborted fetus. Their display consisted of large billboards featuring graphic, full-color, high-definition photographs of developing and aborted fetuses. The men (I observed no women) who were with the organization had fenced themselves in around the display using crowd-control fences (presumably to act as a barrier between themselves and offended college students) and were already engaged in heated debates with students who were, it would seem, as disgusted as I was.
Aside from the graphic, stomach-churning nature of this display, I was enraged for several reasons. Once the initial shock of the display subsided (although only momentarily), I was immediately concerned for any woman in the area who hadmade the decision to have an abortion. I can only imagine the emotional and mental trauma that would be instigated by viewing such atrocious images.
This brings me to my next note of extreme outrage. Respect. Regardless of your position on abortion, I think we can all agree that this display did not help to resolve the issue. It succeeded only in violating our right tohold our opinions privately while respecting the opinions and decisions of others in the same quiet, respectful manner. The right to free speech allows you, as an American citizen, to express your own views and maintain your own opinions without fear of persecution. It does notallow you to forcibly impose your ideas and opinions on my mind - by doing so, you are, in fact, violating my right to live without persecution.
My personal views on abortion were not altered in any way by this display. However, the nature of this message certainly did a lot to shape my opinions of those who were responsible for setting it up. I think it's important to discuss social issues, especially those that concern human life. However, in all matters of opinion, respect for the opinions of others is absolutely essential, an attribute that AbortionNO was in egregious want of in the construction of their argument.
What is most depressing here is that AbortionNO did not educate or persuade. They merely enraged and disgusted the people who had the misfortune to pass by. Their photographs did nothing to resolve what has long been an issue of contention - they merely exploited and exacerbated the hate that already exists between those of the pro-life and pro-choice sects, both of which have a right to their opinion.
