November 7, 2024

Abortion rights spark debate on campus

The Supreme Court is currently hearing arguments disputing abortion laws established in Texas, a state which holds the country’s strictest abortion ban. Much of the discourse surrounding women’s rights and access to abortions is currently a hot-button issue, and students at WSU Vancouver decided to voice their concerns in response to the nationwide debate on campus grounds.

On the morning of Oct. 28, two tents stood on WSU Vancouver’s quad on opposite sides set up by opposing clubs, one sponsored by the Cougs for Reproductive Freedom, and the other by the Students for Life of America. In an attempt to express their concerns in the pro-life versus pro-choice debate, the two clubs shared their opinions to passing students.

Matthew Guiher, vice president of Students for Life of America, discussed his affiliation with the pro-life movement. (Emily Baumann/The VanCougar)

The University of Missouri School of Medicine states, “The two chief positions on the morality of abortion can be called the ‘pro-life’ position and the ‘pro-choice’ position. The basic pro-life position holds that induced abortions are morally impermissible (morally wrong, morally prohibited). The basic pro-choice position holds that induced abortions are morally permissible (morally allowable, not morally wrong).”

The first tent to appear on campus was the Students for Life of America club, having set up a banner display, flyers and props communicating pro-life messages. In response to the club’s appearance, Cougs for Reproductive Freedom gathered to discuss their views on the importance of a woman’s right to choose when having an abortion. At their table, club members had gathered signs promoting Planned Parenthood’s healthcare services, and provided fact sheets from the same organization about the importance of facilitating reproductive healthcare.

Gabriella Deason, a junior majoring in hospitality business management, said the club’s initiative is to provide resources to students that explain how Planned Parenthood not only grants safe and reliable abortions to women, but also advances public access to birth control, testing for sexually transmitted diseases and HIV, reproductive cancer screenings, vaccines, transgender health services, vasectomy services, condoms and more.

“We are trying to raise awareness of our club, it’s very new and we wanted to provide some actual information, and not try to attack [students] and be so aggressive. We don’t want to make you feel so alone on campus,” Deason said.

“Planned Parenthood ultimately caters to a lot of low-income Black Indigenous People of Color, so by taking away that resource that hurts large communities.” – Alexia Lui

Alexia Lui, president of Cougs for Reproductive Freedom and junior social sciences major, said their club is partnered with Pro-Choice Washington, a nonprofit grassroots organization that advocates for reproductive freedom for all people. 

Alexia Lui, president of Cougs for Reproductive Freedom, talked on campus about Planned Parenthood’s reproductive healthcare services. (Emily Baumann/The VanCougar)

Lui described the club’s appearance on campus as a response to the Students for Life of America’s gathering. However, according to Lui, their main objective is to educate students about Planned Parenthood’s values when providing ethical and safe reproductive healthcare, which she added is crucial toward the overall community health of People of Color.

“Today, we are trying to fight against the stigma that surrounds Planned Parenthood, and the other group, their whole goal is to take down or defund Planned Parenthood. We’re just trying to make it aware to the students that Planned Parenthood provides a lot of other services, abortion is a very small part of what they do,” Lui said. “Planned Parenthood ultimately caters to a lot of low-income Black Indigenous People of Color, so by taking away that resource that hurts large communities.”

On the other side of the quad, Students for Life of America shared their stance regarding abortions and pro-life morals, which included the promotion of alternatives to abortions. Vice president of the club, Matthew Guiher, a sophomore mechanical engineering major, is one of the founders alongside their president Angelica de la Fuente de Lara. Guiher said the club is part of the Students for Life of America nationwide organization, whose mission is to “recruit, train and mobilize the pro-life generation to abolish abortion,” according to their website. 

Guiher explained the organization implements itself as a sponsor for student clubs in college campuses across the country. When asked what brought him to the quad during the club display, Guiher said he supports the pro-life argument because he has been a part of it for an extended amount of time.

“I have been a part of this for almost my whole life. My parents are very pro-life and we have always been a part of the movement. … Today, our group as a whole seeks to promote alternatives to abortions. So we try to promote pregnancy resource centers in the area for any pregnant parents on campus,” Guiher said. 

For Sarah Johnson, a junior history major and representative sharing information to students at the club’s gathering, the Students for Life of America is built upon the idea that an embryo is a person, and the club’s purpose is to encourage students to influence legislation related to laws supporting pro-life arguments.

“I’m here today because I believe that an embryo is a person, a person who maybe hasn’t had any experiences or memory yet, already experiences brain waves at six weeks of gestation, and has the potential to be a positive member of our society, and to experience a life that we have no authority to measure in terms of convenience to us. I believe that that person deserves, like I do, the chance to live,” Johnson said.

The Students for Life of America’s display on the quad, which included banners and signs to promote their cause. (Emily Baumann/The VanCougar)

In response to the group’s display, Lui said both groups have a right to voice their opinions during public demonstrations on campus. 

“At the end of the day, they have a right to be here, they have the right to say what they want to say and demonstrate, and we respect that. However, we feel the need to represent the other side of this argument. [We want] to present factual information for those who want to know what [pro-choice] is and to provide a safe supportive space for people who are having their rights attacked,” Lui said.

With discussions to defund Planned Parenthood and other healthcare practices providing abortions to women, debates between pro-life and pro-choice arguments remain at the forefront of political discussion on campus and everywhere in the U.S. For more information about abortion, visit the World Health Organization’s website here. To inquire about abortion data and statistics, visit the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website here.

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