Protest, counter-protest – Of animals and fetuses

In the wake of last week’s PETA protest, students were exposed to another controversial demonstration Wednesday. The issue this time was abortion, and like last week’s protest, the demonstrators and counter-demonstrators articulated differing ideologies heavily entrenched in morality.

While last week’s protest was a reaction to a specific stimulus – the PETA-sponsored art exhibit that showcased juxtaposed images of oppressed peoples and shackled or slaughtered animals – Wednesday’s demonstration was much more a whimsical occurrence than it was a triggered response.

The original organizers of the demonstration – ardent anti-abortionists who displayed gruesome images of mutilated fetuses throughout campus – appeared out of the blue, unexpected to most students and faculty. Moreover, they seemed more bent on arbitrarily moralizing and condemning passers-by than pushing a goal-oriented agenda designed to influence abortion legislation at the local, state, and federal levels.

Because of the demonstrators’ “fire and brimstone” tactics, many students and faculty were bothered – and naturally so. In fact, shortly after the initial demonstration began, the counter-demonstrators had outnumbered and become more vocal than the original instigators. For those observing the loud, chaotic event, it was quite apparent that the student body (or at least the majority of those present) was ideologically opposed to the anti-abortionists, which one could note from the pro-choice signs students carried and the chants they shouted periodically.

The emotional response to the anti-abortion demonstration came at a time when many ponder the future legal status of abortion as the makeup of the Supreme Court has changed with the arrival of new chief justice John Roberts and Justice Sandra Day O’Conner’s vacancy. Although it’s debatable whether the Supreme Court would overturn Roe v. Wade given the precedent of “stare decisis,” or upholding that which has already been decided, it’s still a power the land’s highest court has. Many made it clear that this consideration was on their minds.

Fortunately, despite the heated nature of the abortion argument, Wednesday’s demonstrations didn’t reach a belligerent or violent state. Many counter-demonstrators understood that the anti-abortionists had the freedom to express their opinions, whatever they might be, as VCU is public state property. The counter-demonstrators’ quips with the anti-abortionists stemmed more from their use of grotesque, sensational images of fetuses (and the fact that several young children were holding them no less) than the anti-abortionists’ own opinions.

In any case, it’s probably best that the anti-abortionists, like the PETA-sponsored exhibition, made a presence on campus, however unpopular they might have been. Activism can be confrontational and uncomfortable, but it does a good job of eliciting responses from people. After all, without opposing viewpoints, neither side of the ideological spectrum would have a basis for measuring its own.

Tad Hetchoat can be reached at tadhethcoat@yahoo.com