College Feminists will mark the 35th anniversary of the Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion with events throughout the week, taking on a controversial topic from several angles.
The first Choice Week, planned as an annual event, is partially in response to a display last year that was sponsored by Northwestern Students for Life, an anti-abortion group on campus, College Feminists Treasurer Emily Raymond said. Last year, flags lined Sheridan Road for the 34th anniversary of Roe v. Wade (1973), representing the more than 3,200 abortions performed each day in America.
“We knew that a lot of people on campus were very upset about it, but other than writing letters to the editor, there wasn’t much that we could do at that point,” the Weinberg sophomore said. “We were a little embarrassed that we hadn’t done anything last year.”
Raymond assembled a committee to propose activities for the week which cover “the more diverse aspects of the decision,” said College Feminists co-Director Alexandria Gutierrez.
“Everyone kind of focuses on the obvious: the right to choose, but we wanted to show the other sides of it,” the Weinberg senior said. “It’s a complex issue … legally, ethically, religiously and morally.”
Professors from the religion and sociology departments and the law school will speak about different topics related to the abortion debate, including a legal analysis of the Roe v. Wade decision and a “pro-choice movie night.”
Northwestern Students for Life has not planned anything for this week, but Mike Breidenbach, the organization’s president, said that members will be attending the Choice Week events, submitting a guest column to The Daily and being “conscientious objectors.”
“We’re very glad that College Feminists have taken interest in this important issue, (but) we don’t think that a court decision that has resulted in so many moral and legal concerns and such a disproportionate amount of abortions is worth honoring and celebration,” the Weinberg senior said.
Students for Life approached College Feminists about holding an abortion debate this year, but College Feminists declined, Breidenbach said. The invitation remains open, he said.
Raymond said she would have enjoyed a debate, but said she doubted it would have changed any opinions because of the groups involved.
Both Breidenbach and Raymond said they believe that a larger percentage of NU students are in favor of abortion rights. Nationally, it is the more popular opinion and Raymond said one of the goals of Choice Week is to “get some of that silent majority out of the woodwork.”
But Breidenbach believes that while the majority might support legal abortion, some might oppose abortion on principle.
“In general, most people would define themselves as pro-choice, which to my mind means that they are personally against abortion but still think it should be legal,” Breidenbach said.
Raymond said that she does not expect Students for Life to protest the week’s programming from students. If anything, she said, she would not be surprised to see non-university anti-abortion groups demonstrating in front of the Arch.
“I think (NU Students for Life) would rather engage in a dialogue or something more thoughtful than pictures of dead babies,” Raymond said.
Reach Sara Fay at [email protected].
