When members of on-campus activist groups heard there would be a pro-life rally plastering images of bloodied fetuses near South Green on Wednesday, they organized a counter-protest to promote pro-choice and body autonomy.
Created Equal, a national pro-life group based in Columbus, was invited by Bobcats for Life to come to Ohio University on Wednesday. The group put up signs with graphic images and displayed videos of abortion on a large screen in front of Nelson Dining Hall.
Individuals stood in front of the images on either side of South Beach displaying signs with phrases like “Keep Abortion Legal” and “My Body, My Choice,” as well as passing out informational flyers and condoms.
“We want to be here to support people who are wanting to utilize their choice or have utilized their choice in the past and exercised their bodily autonomy,” Megan Carter, a member of Feminist Equality Movement, said.
Haley Reese Calhoun, a sophomore studying theater performance, argued the imagery displayed by Created Equal could be traumatic or triggering to some people passing by.
“I understand that they want to get their point across, but it’s disturbing and it’s off-putting,” she said. “They have these signs that say, ‘Warning, abortion victims ahead,’ but it’s really not enough warning for someone who has PTSD or post-partum depression or someone who is having regrets about having an abortion. It could really cause panic attacks and the inability to go to class.”
Mark Harrington, the director of Created Equal, said the group uses those images to get across its message.
“It’s to raise awareness using the victim imagery,” he said. “It’s to create a dialogue on campus. … We’re here to influence people to be opposed to abortion and be open to other solutions that are more humane.”
The photos and videos were so obscene, Carter said she thought they were likely doctored because of the legality associated with filming in an operation room. Harrington said that notion is not uncommon, but he said they have documentation and signed affidavits from photographers and doctors confirming their authenticity.
“When people don’t like the pictures, they change the subject to, ‘Oh, they’re fake, they’re not real,’” he said. “That’s what Neo-Nazis did with the Holocaust. They deny it.”
Calhoun and a friend were passing out free condoms to passersby to avoid the controversial decision altogether.
“Since they don’t have any condoms, and they’re not talking about contraception, I figure you need someone out here in order to give out information about how you can prevent an unwanted pregnancy in the first place,” Calhoun said. “They’re very much pro-have-the-baby, and they don’t consider what happens before the baby is even conceived.”
Harrington and his group had GoPro cameras mounted to their chests, recording their interactions with students for their own safety, he said. Students will sometimes threaten the group or even destroy the displays. In September, a masked man was recorded vandalizing a similar demonstration with what appeared to be a nightstick, but Harrington called the protest on Wednesday “civil” and “quiet.”
“I think (the counter protest) is great,” he said. “This is America and this is a place of free speech. The quintessential marketplace of ideas is the college campus.”
