We feel that the article “Students show concern for life” needs to be addressed to show that Creighton students are also concerned with the rights and inherent dignity of women. We are not going to debate the merits of pro-life versus pro-choice as the scope and length of this letter isn’t appropriate for such a weighty and nuanced issue.

Instead, we are arguing for an end to rhetoric that marginalizes a subset of our community and a shift to more effective practices aimed at working towards actual solutions. While we respect the views of the Creighton Students for Life, we are concerned about a few of their activities.

We take issue with the group’s routine of praying for women attempting to enter clinics that provide abortions. The consequences of this practice are seen most vividly in the recent trial of the monstrous Dr. Gosnell. Evidence from the trial suggests that a number of factors led women to seek out these dangerous operations, including lack of access to safe, abortion-providing clinics, a fear of violence perpetrated by protestors at clinics and the right-wing culture that has stigmatized those who get abortions. At what point does this practice cross the line from genuine support to harassment? At what point does it shift from helping to victimizing? Sadly, it appears to already have done so.

One has to question why the group has chosen to publicly pray in front of the clinics when they could easily pray in a church or anywhere else as their prayers should be equally effective regardless of their physical location. They are right when they argue that they are exercising their freedom of speech. However, they need to understand the consequences of possibly creating such a toxic environment that people are afraid to seek safe medical care for fear of the public humiliation they will endure at the most vulnerable time in their life.

The inflammatory rhetoric used by members of the group in this article, such as calling doctors “abortionists” and using words like “evil” don’t encourage an open discourse on this subject. We believe a change in how we talk about this issue can open up the possibilities of working together to reduce the number of abortions being performed, which is a valiant cause. We need to rise above divisive debates about the morality of abortion and focus on solutions that work, like increasing access to birth control and contraceptives, providing a support system for women who do get pregnant and striving to make our educational system realistic for working mothers.

While the shoe display commemorating Roe v. Wade, a Supreme Court decision that protected a woman’s right to choose, was certainly attention-getting, we would suggest their time would be better spent working to improve our health care system to support at-risk women.

Let’s stand in solidarity with all members of our community.