Organization presents information against abortion to students

The visual reality of aborted fetuses was amplified by the display that towered next to McKee Hall which will be on display on West Campus. Justice For All, an organization that fights against abortion, set up its head-turning display with pictures of terminated pregnancies.

Abortion is brought to the campus community’s attention almost every year. Whether or not students are offended by the nature of the display, the organization still has the right to display its side of the issue.

Tammy Cook, the director of human resources for JFA, said she got involved with the organization because of her beliefs about the issue. She said people are ignoring the rights of these unborn people and that it’s essential to expose the injustice.

“The goal of our organization is to teach students about what abortion is,” Cook said. “Many people have been told (…) that when the fetus is undifferentiated, it isn’t human. And so we come here we ask students questions about what they think about the issue.”

The prospect of furthering stem cell research has no bearing on Cook’s stance on the issue. She said she thinks taking the life of an embryo is the same as taking the life of an unborn, developing child.

“With that line of thinking, people may assume that a person’s age determines their value,” Cook said.

Tommy Forster, a junior at College of The Ozarks in Missouri, said he joined up with JFA through the Focus on the Family program in Colorado Springs after his sister joined the institute two years ago.

“I think it’s an important topic to discuss because at some point you have to decide whether there’s absolute truth or relative truth, and I believe there’s absolute truth. You can’t have any grey areas with abortion,” Forster said.

Other students said they disagreed with the notion that abortion should be illegal and gave their own ideas about how to deal with the situation of unplanned or unwanted pregnancy.

“I think it should remain legal because if you get raped or a woman is unable to provide for the child, she should have that option,” said Michael Devine, a sophomore special education major.

As for the content of the display, some said they were surprised at its graphic content.

“I’m shocked to see this here,” said Aimee Wren, a freshman biomedical premed major. “I’m definitely pro-choice. I’m pretty insulted that they don’t provide both sides of the issue.”

Jasmine West, a sophomore international studies major, said she agreed with Wren.

“I guess everyone has their own opinion,” West said. “I think if you’re defending your ideas and beliefs, that’s great. But you definitely need to have a balanced presentation.”