Pro-Life posters University to spark discussion

Just as members of the Pride Alliance believe that "Love = Love" between any two people, Princeton Pro-Life believes that "Life = Life" from the moment of conception on through adulthood.

And like the "Love = Love" flyer campaign, "Life = Life = Life" has met with opposition.

Only a few hours after the posters — meant to spark debate at Princeton about abortion — were put up, several of them located outside Frist Campus Center were torn down. Tom Haine '08, Princeton Pro-Life's (PPL) president, attributed the posters' removal to students' "unwillingness to confront the issues."

The PPL fliers present facts about abortion and images of human infants and fetuses.

"Many students are apathetic about abortion," Haine said. "They refuse to talk about it or see anything related to it even though it is costing so many lives."

He added that the "Love = Love" campaign started before Valentine's Day "really got lots of students talking and debating about different forms of love between different people. We want to do the same thing with our postering campaign, to spark debate about abortion."

PPL vice president Daniela Kende '09 noted that the group "is in no way trying to rebut" the fliers posted by the Pride Alliance and that the groups have a "perfectly friendly relationship."

Pride Alliance president Luca Nagy '07 expressed mixed feelings about the campaign in an email, saying "it reminds people who see those posters of our campaign, long after our posters have disappeared, which could be a good thing."

Nagy added, however, that "I would not want the Pride Alliance to be in any way associated with the conservative antiabortion propaganda, even if it is only through similar poster headlines and coordinated timing of poster campaigns."

Representatives from Princeton Pro-Choice could not be reached.

PPL's fliers are also part of a broader poster campaign leading up to a PPL planned "Respect Life Week" in April. Haine said that week will feature guest speakers, the passing out of literature and a table at the Frist Campus Center where students can receive information.

Although plans for Respect Life Week are still tentative, PPL is attempting to bring a group of women to campus to discuss their experiences with "post-abortive stress," Kende said.

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"Abortion is not just a surgery," Kende continued. "There are aftereffects on women, like regret."

After the current set of "Life = Life = Life" flyers gains momentum, PPL plans to put out additional fliers with different phrases and facts that "catch your eye, and get you thinking for the rest of the day," Haine said.

"Whether you're Pro-Life or not, there is no way to be apathetic about abortion because a lot of people have died," he said. "Our goal with these posters is to get students to think about and discuss these issues."