Debating the use of graphic anti-abortion images in UGA’s Tate Plaza
On Sept. 23 through 24, a six-foot tall display featuring a large image of an aborted fetus stood in the Tate Plaza. The image was accompanied by a series of images of developing fetuses and people with the caption “When are we human?” and an interactive poll of “Should abortion be legal?”
These are pertinent questions that created a pertinent debate. In the wake of Texas State Senator Wendy Davis’s pink-tennis-shoed filibuster and Pope Francis’s public condemnation of the church’s focus on abortion, the presence of graphic images in the middle of UGA campus created shockwaves through the student population.
This display was set up by the organization Justice For All (JFA), a pro-life Christian organization based in Wichita, Kansas. JFA’s displays drew both support and criticism from the UGA student body. Their presence was protested by members of the Women’s Studies Student Organization (WSSO). In the spirit of debate, I spoke to a representative from JFA and one from the WSSO to gain an understanding of both of their perspectives.
Rebecca Haschke, Representative of Justice For All
According to Rebecca Haschke, JFA’s use of graphic visual displays stems from a deep-rooted belief in the humanity of a fetus. “We believe that the unborn is a valuable human being just like a woman is a valuable human being,” she says. “Can we agree that at least born humans deserve equal treatment regarding the basic right to life? That seems like the kind of thing that people on both sides of the discussion agree on, but doesn’t that mean there is something the same about these born human beings? If so, what is the same? It’s their human nature, or their humanness. If this is what gives born humans equal value and the unborn have that same human nature, shouldn’t they also deserve equal treatment?”
It is in that spirit of equal treatment for fetuses and women that JFA demonstrates on campuses, Haschke says. “Our mission is to share the truth of what abortion does to those human beings, and we do that on college campuses because that is an area for discussion.”
JFA sets up these displays on roughly 10 to 15 college campuses every year. In using these displays, Haschke emphasizes JFA’s desire to create a dialogue. JFA hosts a seminar entitled “Abortion: From Debate to Dialogue” in which they teach people to “share the truth in love.” “We basically teach people to ask questions with an open heart,” Haschke says. “If you’re simply asking questions to respond to what they say, you’re not loving the person and not wanting to know what they have to say.”
JFA has other displays that are non-graphic, but they choose to use their graphic displays on UGA’s campus. According to Haschke, sometimes the group only sets up a poll table with a sign that says “Should Abortion be Legal?” Other times, they display a banner with the question “Where would you draw the line?” and images of “the stages of life” that include fetal development. At UGA, however, Haschke says JFA has enough volunteers available to engage passersby that they can use a graphic display. “Depending on the number of people we have volunteering to share that message in love helps us determine what type of exhibit we would use,” she says. “If we would have more people out there, we would be able to connect with more students.” Haschke mentions that not every individual that volunteers with JFA receives training or have degrees in counseling, but many volunteers are women who have previously had abortions.
When asked why JFA uses these pictures, Haschke points to an attempt to create a balance between what her organization perceives as loving people, through providing counseling and emotional support, and through telling the truth, through displaying images of aborted fetuses.
JFA acknowledges that the use of these images could potentially cause pain. One of the sources on the JFA website states “Healing from abortion will not usually begin until the emotional pain caused by an abortion becomes greater than the perceived benefits of that abortion. Only 1 in 4 women report feelings of regret over their abortion. Without a dramatic change of moral and emotional equilibrium in these women, healing will not begin.”
But Haschke points out, “We don’t desire to make women feel bad. We desire to care for women.” However, this desire is balanced against their belief that fetuses, also, have “humanness” and “human nature.” “That’s what makes sexism wrong. That’s what makes racism wrong – we take a superficial difference and use it to discriminate against another human being. But if that human being has that human nature, I would want to protect them in that same way.” And, for Haschke, these images are a way to protect a human.
Samantha Meyer, Representative of the Women’s Studies Student Organization (WSSO)
Samantha Meyer, a member of the Women’s Studies Student Organization, attended a peaceful protest against the use of graphic images in the Tate Plaza, which was attended by women inside and outside of the organization. “You don’t necessarily have to be a feminist to agree with not having them on campus,” she says.
She explained that JFA is able to hold these events because they are invited by Students for Life, so “no one can really say ‘you can’t be here’ because they follow all the rules to a tee.”
Meyer takes issue for the location of the graphic images. At the Tate Plaza, the graphic displays are in the middle of UGA tour routes, at the crossroads of campus, and right outside the UGA bookstore, which is frequented by tourists looking for souvenirs and information. “At one point,” Meyer recalls, the university “rerouted campus tours to not go through Tate when they had the larger displays [in the past] because that is not indicative of students at UGA.”
“When you put something like that up, you’re not just reaching students. You’re reaching anyone on UGA’s campus and representing us, to a degree. These displays are in the center of our campus, near the bookstore, where people go to get a shirt or get more information.” While Meyer appreciates debates in UGA’s “environment of learning and higher education,” she calls JFA’s methods “troubling.”
What is particularly troubling to Meyer is the possibility for these images to cause women pain. “I think that it could potentially be triggering for someone. Putting an image like that up could easily remind someone of a past traumatic situation that they have had.” Meyer points out that Tate is difficult to avoid and that these displays are often unannounced to students beforehand, which keeps students from being able to decide whether or not to engage with them.
On the other hand, Meyer points out that most women experience a sense of relief, rather than a sense of guilt, after having an abortion. (JFA agrees, according to this source, claiming that 3 out of 4 women do not experience feelings of guilt after an abortion.)
“What they’re doing completely disregards women,” Meyers says, “because they’re saying every person has a right to life; as soon as fertilization happens, you are a human. It’s fine if you believe that, but in doing so, and in advocating so much for this fetus or this baby, you’re disregarding the women involved. This fetus does not exist in a vacuum; this fetus exists in a woman. They are out there saying ‘you’re selfish if you have an abortion,’ but most women don’t have an abortion to be selfish. They do so because they don’t feel they are in a situation to have a child or raise a child.”
According to Meyer, JFA uses these images “to get women to come over to their side and their way of thinking. They love telling this narrative of women who have an abortion and regret it, but that is not the dominant narrative.”
At the end of the day, says Meyer, JFA’s message is not of loving women, but of condemning women. “That’s what they’re doing: shaming women for wanting to have bodily autonomy and control over their choices, shaming women for those decisions and those desires.”
Responding to the Debate
The Tate Center takes complaints about protests in the Tate Plaza. On Tuesday, they also placed one sign reading “Warning: Graphic Content on Display” outside the door from Tate leading into the plaza.
Do you think that this is enough protection? Do you think the use of these images on campus is appropriate? There are avenues for you in which to act to show either your support or dissent. Students who are interested in passing legislation on the issue can speak to their SGA representative. In order to show either support or disagreement, they can also write letters to organizations that they either agree or disagree with that are involved in this issue. Those who agree with JFA’s work might consider volunteering with them or working with their sponsoring organization, Students for Life. Students who find the graphic displays offensive might consider reaching out to JFA directly and asking that they bring non-graphic displays when they demonstrate in the center of UGA’s campus, since they have access to both graphic and non-graphic materials.
Regardless of your position on abortion, consider whether or not Justice For All is truly providing justice for all and inject your voice into the dialogue around this issue.
