During the Week for Life there were no pictures of aborted fetuses. Rather, Duke Students for Life put on the most in-depth discussion of reproductive rights that I have seen since at this University.
We began our week last Monday with a cemetery of the innocence honoring the more than 4,000 human beings lost to abortion daily in the United States. Monday evening we had a lively discussion on Christian feminism. On Tuesday, contrary to Nicole Nelson’s March 22 letter, we displayed images of fetal development from conception to birth.
On Wednesday we had a discussion with a woman who was gracious enough to share her experience leading to and after an abortion, which she chose to have as a result of a “crisis pregnancy.” We met Thursday with an undergraduate mother in an intimate discussion that was aimed at undergraduate women, especially those who may find themselves pregnant. We learned more of her decision to choose life and the resources available at Duke and beyond for young mothers. Lastly, on Friday we offered a discussion board entitled “What does life mean to you?” on which anyone could write what they associate with life.
We began and ended our week with collaborative discussions and sounding boards that allowed members of the larger Duke community to share their opinions on an issue that matters to many people of varying political affiliations and walks of life—an issue that should not be trivialized along the dyads of liberal and conservative.
Chinwe Atkinson, Trinity ’10
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