Anti-abortion protesters were met with retaliation from student abortion-rights activists Wednesday afternoon in Howard Park just outside of Voigt Hall, Ohio University’s only female-only residence hall.
The anti-abortion protesters began setting up signs around the park depicting the remains of supposed aborted fetuses around 11 a.m. They were promptly met with students armed with signs and speakers in opposition to their message.
Ohio U Police Department officers on the scene urged students to stay on the sidewalk and stood back to observe the event. Anti-abortion protesters sported body cameras stating they were for protection purposes only as protesters in the past have been physically assaulted or had their property destroyed.
The protesters are part of Created Equal, a non-profit organization based out of Columbus which claims their fight against abortion is a “historic battle for equality.” They liken their efforts to that of Martin Luther King Jr.’s fight for racial equality. The protesters stated they were compensated via sponsored donations to carry out their demonstration.
Created Equal believes human development begins with the creation of a human zygote and claims “abortion is ageism.” The group claims to not have any political or religious affiliation, however, the protesters stated that everyone on their staff is Christian.
“We’ve seen so many fights for civil rights, and I think this is the next one,” Esther Cann, an anti-abortion protester, said. “We’re out here to have civil conversations, we’re not here to scream and shout.”
Student abortion-rights activists gathered around those representing Created Equal, holding up their own signs in opposition, discussing their views and playing music from a speaker while singing and dancing around the protesters. The students also chanted “Fuck them kids,” a line originating from the 2008 movie “Soul Men,” which has risen in popularity with the use of memes.
Some abortion-rights activists were found handing out condoms to passersby and even attempted to give them to the protesters, adding that the protesters should promote preventive contraceptives if they are against abortion.
“I am not here because I am a selfish woman, I am here for my mother, I am here for my sister,” Lydia, a second-year student at Ohio U said. “I am here to protect women’s right to choose.” Lydia declined to provide her last name.
Lydia stood with a sign reading “Fuck Them Kids! My Choice” with an image of a coat hanger. She read off a Facebook post written by Dave Barnhart, a pastor of a church named Saint Junia, which claims that “the unborn'' are “the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus but actually dislike people who breathe,” generating cheers from the crowd of students.
“Reproductive health is something that I take really seriously. When my mom was pregnant with my youngest sister, she almost miscarried her,” Lydia said. “If it wasn't for legal and safe access to reproductive health care, my youngest sister probably wouldn't be here, so it’s something that I take really seriously out of love, really.”
Gabriel Vance, a representative for Created Equal, stated that the issue of abortion concerns him because at the time he was conceived in 1973 it was legal to have an abortion in Ohio, and therefore his mother could have had him aborted.
“Intentionally killing innocent beings is always wrong. So therefore I oppose it, even though I haven't been aborted. I've never been pregnant. I've never had an abortion,” Vance said. “I can still look at the act and see that because abortion hurts other people, hurts other innocent human beings, I should oppose that.”
However, several anti-abortion protesters revealed they were not vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus, and none were seen wearing masks. This upset many students, who said if the protesters valued human life they would wear a mask and get vaccinated to prevent more COVID-19 deaths.
Ohio U student Miles Freedman engaged in a discussion with Silas McCulfor, an anti-abortion protester, about the importance of getting the vaccine.
“He (McCulfor) said that he valued all human life. I brought up vaccines and I slowly worked him through any of his concerns with the vaccine, and I hopefully convinced him to get vaccinated,” Freedman said. “We kept the conversation calm and polite and respectful and I think it actually made some headway.”
Students also questioned the morality of making a mother keep a child in cases of rape.
“I believe that that rapist should be punished according to the law. I believe that (that) mother is an innocent victim and deserves love and counseling and help, but I also believe that that child that’s being conceived is an innocent human being, and I don't think we should kill that child as a solution,” Vance said. “We shouldn't punish an innocent child for the crimes of their biological father.”
Vance also added in cases where the mother or child could die during the process of birth, there are other options rather than abortion that would not require destroying the fetus. He cited Option Line, a confidential counseling service, for those in mental and emotional distress regarding unplanned pregnancy or seeking post-abortion help.
“I think this (the images) can harm people's emotional and mental health by seeing this, that's of course not our intention,” Vance said. “But I also think it’s important that the reality of abortion is shown, the evidence is shown, so that we can stop more people from suffering through that.”
The protesters’ permit ended around 2 p.m., which was followed by cheers from students.
“I want people to know that OU as a student body and as a campus does not support these people’s message of anti-abortion and anti-women's health care, because that's not what our campus is like at all, the people I've met here are not like that at all,” Lydia said.
Despite the actions of the crowd, Freedman stressed the importance of civil discourse.
“I understand the mentality of wanting to yell and scream, people like this can be often infuriating just for their absolute disregard for human life and how they just make the world worse. It's really easy to get angry, but at a certain point you have to realize it doesn't do much,” Freedman said. “Whether we like it or not, we have to coexist for a while, so we might as well do what we can.”
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