Demonstrators from the organization AbortionNO gathered on campus to spread anti-abortion awareness on April 17 and 18.
Located outside of Schilletter Dining Hall, the demonstrators set up an exhibit depicting graphic images, including those of aborted fetuses.
This exhibit is called the Genocide Awareness Project and is “an educational outreach, providing students with information they are not likely to receive from pro-abortion faculty,” according to its website.
The posters on display warned students of “genocide photos ahead,” and AbortionNO had signs drawing parallels between the state of abortions in the U.S. to that of a genocide, like the Holocaust.
The exhibit used strong language, including posters on the topics of race, child abuse and rape.
“Our culture executes innocent babies of rape victims and calls it ‘reproductive choice’,” one sign read.
Another showed pictures of abused children next to aborted fetuses and read, “Should government permit child abuse?”
According to Clemson University Police Department officers, AbortionNO had gone through the proper channels and acquired the proper material to be on campus.
“Clemson University is a public institution and as such values and respects the rights of all students and members of the community to express diverse viewpoints and opinions. As a campus community, we recognize our role as a marketplace for students and non-affiliated groups to assemble and express their views within reasonable considerations of time, place and manner,” the University told The Tiger in an email.
“Please know Clemson does not tolerate actual threats of violence or acts of lawlessness, but allows constitutionally protected free speech, regardless of topic. The group exercising the right to free speech activity is operating within parameters outlined in our Facility use policy. They worked through the required processes and approvals to conduct this type of demonstration in a designated area located near Bryan Mall,” the University told The Tiger.
Despite this, many students felt strongly about their presence.
“Seeing it made me very uncomfortable. What was most triggering to me was the ‘What about rape?’ part. As a sexually assaulted woman, I just can’t get behind that,” one pro-abortion student told The Tiger.
When asked about their choice to include such graphic imagery and strong language, AbortionNO told The Tiger, “We hope to show people the truth about what abortion is and what it does to a human being.”
“We are not here to condemn anyone but to hopefully show people the truth to protect women and children from future abortions,” AbortionNO said.
AbortionNO is also listed as the Center for Bioethical Reform, and its website states that “CBR operates on the principle that abortion represents an evil so inexpressible that words fail us when attempting to describe its horror. Until abortion is seen, it will never be understood.”
On Thursday, the second day of the exhibit, more students came out to counter-demonstrate, holding signs promoting abortion rights and encouraging students who shared their beliefs not to be swayed by AbortionNO’s presence.
“We wanted to come out here and oppose the abortion images because we saw and heard from some of our friends that it was negatively affecting their well-being, and it was making them feel poorly,” Nat Farver, a sophomore performing arts major, told The Tiger.
“We wanted to come out with mental health resources to promote the portion of the student body that isn’t in favor of that,” Farver said.
