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Anti-abortion group brings display to Otterbein

Created Equal, based in Columbus, has been coming to campus for nearly 10 years

Otterbein students gathered to counter-protest [VIDEO] Created Equal, an anti-abortion group based in Columbus, that visited campus yesterday afternoon.

The group, which was established in 2011, has been coming to Otterbein for nearly 10 years [VIDEO] and often goes to other colleges and universities, as well as high school campuses

"We go to dozens of college campuses every semester. We're based here so obviously it's a little more convenient to us, so we make the rounds," president and founder of Created Equal Mark Harrington said. "It's part of our semester tour where we go to dozens of college campuses, not just in Ohio, but throughout the Midwest and even South."

Harrington also explained the reasoning for coming to campus and displaying images of aborted fetuses. "They're graphic because abortion is graphic," he said. "It's the unvarnished truth of what happens when a woman commits an abortion, and we have to start with that, otherwise it's just people's opinion. The visual evidence is undeniable, it's irrefutable, it communicates at a glance something that would take several minutes to longer than that to explain. But everybody gets it when they look at that. They know what it is." 

He said that his group has had mixed reactions from students, but said that they are on campus to reach students who may not know much about abortion. "It's the person that hasn't given it a lot of thought, that maybe's just middle of the road, possibly pro-choice but doesn't know why, they're the ones we want to reach."

However, freshman acting major Quinn Seevers and sophomore zoo and conservation science major Kaylie West said that Created Equal's message is not wanted or needed at Otterbein.

"I don't know what they're trying to achieve by being here," Seevers said. "No one here gives a rat's ass about this, like, you're not doing anything by being here. They're not going to change minds by showing anatomically incorrect and scientifically wrong images," Seevers claimed. "I'm not angry, I'm not sad, I just think that it's stupid."

West said, "They're allowed to express their opinions, but I think it's important for us to express ours as well. It's very misleading to put all these signs up when they are not scientifically accurate to what abortion is actually like. It is a bit of scaremongering," she claimed.

Vice president of Created Equal, Seth Drayer, said of the lack of conversation from students, "the pro-choice side at least on Otterbein today is bringing intolerance and censorship."

Isabel Elliot, a sophomore and member of the FreeZone states that many students at the protest tried not to engage with Created Equal. "We've always been told by faculty like people who are informed with this stuff not to engage with them". 

However, some students were willing to discuss abortion with members of Created Equal, even if they don't agree with them or their methods. Charlie Ryan, a freshman English and philosophy major said, "I want to see why these people are doing what they're doing." 

"I feel that your energy is wasted, and if you truly want to advocate for the right of the unborn there are much kinder, and more emotionally supportive ways you can go about it. Love is so much better than fear," Ryan said.


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