Controversial display comes to Seattle campus

During the week of Oct. 4-7, an anti-abortion group called Justice for All, Students for Bio-Ethical Reform will display photographs and distribute literature from Red Square and the HUB Yard (the lawn west of the Husky Union Building). The exhibit consists of 8-foot-by-13-foot panel displays of graphic photographs of genocidal events in history—such as the Holocaust or the Cambodian killing fields—alongside those of aborted fetuses.

As part of its Genocide Awareness Project (GAP), the organization is taking its exhibit to campuses around the country. Among the nine major universities it has visited so far are Ohio State University, University of Tennessee and University of Florida.

“By placing abortion images alongside traditionally recognized forms of genocide we hope to expand the context in which people think about abortion,” explains the group on its GAP Web page (http://www.cbrinfo.org/gap.html). “Throughout history, we as a society have a sad legacy of dehumanizing those who get in our way or have something we want. Once a people group is dehumanized, it is very easy to justify their mistreatment and destruction. Such is the current plight of the unborn child.”

Organizers say the display is also meant to serve as “an open forum for the exchange of ideas while giving us the opportunity to explain why abortion is genocide and why it cannot be tolerated by civilized society.” Justice for All members plan to engage in discussions only with those who approach the exhibit to talk to them. They will also place signs within one block of the site warning oncomers that they are nearing a display of disturbing images.

In preparation for the October visit, representatives of Justice for All met over the summer with a group of university administrators, including Norm Arkans, associate vice president of university relations and chair of the Use of University Facilities Committee; Christine Hughes, division chief of the UW attorney general’s office; and Randy Stegmeier, assistant chief of the university police.

“The Justice for All group is well-informed about First Amendment protections of free speech,” explains Arkans. “They are coming to campus to exercise that right. As a public university that encourages freedom of expression, we believe we are obligated to abide by those protections, even in circumstances where images or expressions may be deemed offensive by some.

“The images in this exhibit are graphic and may be difficult for some individuals to view,” he adds. “We want people to know that.” ¶