There is no place on UBC campus for hate speech

On Tuesday, March 9, UBC Lifeline brought the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) to UBC campus. This is a graphic display juxtaposing contrived images of supposedly aborted fetuses with images of real genocide, such as the holocaust, Rwanda and the Kmer Rouge killing fields in Cambodia.
To begin, this is inaccurate. Abortion is a common medical procedure and having one is the choice of the woman. Genocide is the selective killing of a large group of people of a particular ethnic group or race. Abortion is simply not genocide. It’s ironic, in fact, since studies throughout Europe and North America have shown a decrease in crime following the legalization of abortion. Thus, legalizing abortion reduces crime, and genocide is a crime in its most sinister form.

Secondly, the GAP display is offensive. It is disrespectful towards the survivors and victims of real genocide. It also greatly disrespectful towards women and their right to safe abortion. It is well documented that criminalization of abortion does not decrease the likelihood of a woman to seek an abortion. The result is illegal abortions, which can cause great harm and death to the women who seek them. Women and families are ruined as a result. The GAP display completely ignores the pain and suffering of women when abortion is illegal and instead exploits the pain and suffering experienced by victims of atrocities such as the holocaust.

Last, but certainly not least, the GAP display is disturbing. I have always felt safe on UBC’s Vancouver campus, but nothing about those images made me feel safe. Even prepared with knowledge of the display and its inaccuracies, I felt emotionally harassed by the visuals and sentiments. In my experience, the pro-choice movement never uses tactics like this. For example, graphic images of women dying from botched abortions are not forced upon the UBC community.

It is true that everyone has a right to free speech, but I feel it is my right at UBC to be protected from hate speech. The GAP message is that women who have abortions are criminals comparable to the Nazis. As a Jew and as a woman, I am deeply offended by this. I trust UBC to protect me from these types of messages on campus. If the administration insists on allowing the GAP display to return to campus, there should be strict limitations. Viewing the display—just like whether and when to reproduce—should be each person’s individual choice.

If you would like to get involved in the movement to stop this hate speech from being forced on us in the future, or to get involved in with other current reproductive rights issues, you can contact Students for Reproductive Rights at srr.ubc@gmail.com.

—Justine Spencer

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