Responding to the Anti-Choice Movement

Guest post by Jesse Michener, Kutztown University

Over the past few years, FMLA at Kutztown University has confronted a vocal anti-choice minority on our campus, in our community and in our nation. Three years ago we had a group of anti-choice and homophobic protesters show up on our campus. We did not have time to plan a coordinated response, and we did not respond effectively.

Students gathered to counter protest. Everyone was angry, and the protesters got the response they were looking for. If there is one thing I learned from the time I have spent volunteering at abortion providers, it is that the antis, for the most part, are looking for a reaction; they are trying to upset people. So as time progressed and we realized that our campus was being targeted by anti-choice and anti-LGBTQ protesters, we decided to find a way of effectively responding.

Diversity groups came together from across campus and formed the Silent Witness Safety Response Team. We received training on how to create a buffer between students and protesters in a non-confrontational way. This allowed students to be able to walk freely back and forth across campus and not feel as though they were being attacked (to learn more about Silent Witness, visit http://www.silentwitnesspa.org).

We had organizations on campus offer safe places for students to go while the protesters were on campus in order to talk about their emotions, and we had other groups hand out pins that said “Hate is Not a KU Value.” The antis ended up bringing KU students together and helped social justice groups on our campus learn to work together.

But that wasn’t the only time that we have been confronted with anti-choice protesters. During our Campaign to Expose Fake Clinics, a national movement sponsored by the Feminist Majority Foundation, we had anti-choice community members show up at our meetings.

We had our tables defaced; we learned that when that happens, we have to report the incident to Student Government. We received e-mails from antis; we learned to turn them over to our Women’s Center, Chief of Public Safety and Police Services, and other university officials. During our Roe v. Wade celebrations, we had anti-choice protesters show up at our event; we learned to meet with our Public Safety officials before events to ensure everyone’s safety.

Throughout our experience, we have found that the best action we can take when reacting to the antis is to avoid confrontation. Instead, we focus on supporting the people that they are attacking and the pro-choice work we do. We have used the anti-choice attacks to build stronger relationships with social justice organizations on our campus and build strong bonds with other students.