Editor,
Today I was shocked to be crossing Smith Plaza between classes and unexpectedly confronted with an 18-foot display of anti-abortion propaganda.
That, of course, is the intent of the “Justice for All” exhibit: To startle, confuse, and frighten women into thinking that they are participants in genocide if they have an abortion. With microphone and camera in tow, this organization has cleverly concocted the appearance of public discourse. But debate is not their intention. With their hyperbolic imagery, the goal is to shame women into their theological belief that life begins when they say it does. This well-funded and well-scripted organization is trained to deflect dialogue by turning everything into a question with the ultimate answer always being that abortion is systematic murder with enormously gruesome images to support their claim.
How is a woman to refute this? By telling the truth. I have had three pregnancies. The first resulted in the birth of my son, who is now eight, and the second two I had terminated. I am not embarrassed or ashamed by this. They were not the trivial whims of a selfish girl as their propaganda would lead you to believe. I was, and still am, married and in my late twenties, and when I terminated my pregnancies I did not agonize over my decision. I knew what was right for me, and I exercised that right.
I share this to bring the issue out of the horror show that “Justice for All” makes of it, for only when we openly discuss our own truthful experiences can any woman make an informed choice. The fact is women have the right to choose what is best for their reproductive health, but organizations such as this are constantly challenging this right in increasingly insidious ways, and I am disgusted that UNM allows this gratuitous display on campus.
I will not quietly walk by and allow these people to tell me that I am a murderer. I know better. I know that what they present are lies. My hope is that all the other women that are forced to walk by and feel shamed and guilty realize that they are not alone. Do not let them humiliate you. You are not a killer and you are not selfish. You are a daughter, a sister, a wife, a student and so much more than these people would allow you to believe. I am not a murderer. I am a mother: a mother by choice, not by force.
Christina Williams
UNM student
