Mixed reactions to one powerful truth at UNC Wilmington.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

Here are an assortment of reactions and comments in response to GAP at UNC Wilmington, ranging from the heartwarming, to the disturbing, to the downright ridiculous.

Tolerant and loving.  Three students walked by and one said, “This is so embarrassing — to call abortion genocide.”  Jane Bullington chimed in and asked, “What would you call one million deaths a year?”  To that, the tolerant, loving student embraced diversity by saying, “Don’t talk to me, or you might get assaulted.”

Determined father.  A 19-year-old father of a pre-born child had his resolve strengthened by the pictures.  “My girlfriend is pregnant,” he told Jane.  “It will be hard but we will not do this.”  Jane spent a long time speaking with the young man.  While both have supportive families, they didn’t plan on being parents so early.  He was very nervous but also very grateful that Jane just listened to him and gave him encouragement.

Informed voter.  A young Republican told us after a long conversation, “I am asking a lot of questions because I need to vote appropriately.”  Music to our ears!  That is one of our goals.  We save babies in the here and now, but we also work to prevent future killing by helping Americans ask questions and “vote appropriately.”

Paradoxical or hypocritical?  A young woman made the standard battle cry, “It’s my body!”  But then she followed up with the paradoxical, “You should be ashamed of yourself!”  Not sure how that works.  Weren’t we displaying abortion photos with our own bodies?

Where have the gentlemen gone?  A male student started cussing Jane Bullington out, calling her a piece of you-know-what over and over.  He left after about ten minutes and Jane kept her cool the entire time.  Half an hour later, he came back and told her that while he didn’t agree with Jane, he respected how she willingly took his abuse.  He decided to consider what Jane told him.  Nice.

Forming personal convictions.  A young woman was starting to formulate her own opinions instead of relying on her parents.  She told volunteer Christy McKinney that during a recent sorority meeting, the co-eds were asked to raise their hands if they had an abortion.  She was surprised by the number of hands that went up.  We gave her more abortion information so that the facts, along with the pictures, could properly inform her opinions.

Idiocy gets folks killed.  One student insisted that abortion was perfectly okay because sex wasn’t enjoyable after pregnancy and birth.  Well I guess that’s the logical conclusion when you are willing to kill your children to preserve your sex life.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

Open-area location allowed many ECU students to look, see, and know.

Here are some gems we found at East Carolina University:

Impressed upper classman.  “This is the best thing I have seen on campus in all four years!” said an ECU senior.  Here, here!

Brother-in-arms.  Pro-life activists often share their own stories with us.  A man who frequently walks and prays scripture around campus thanked us for being there.  In the 1970s, soon after Roe v Wade, he used laminated abortion victim images to do his own pro-life activism.  Many Christians and pro-lifers told him to tone it down, but he said “No way!”  He’s our kind of man.

Too much or just enough?  One student told us it was “too much”… at first.  But after speaking with our Jane Bullington, he said, “I see what you are doing and respect your right to do it.”  That was nice but the kicker was: “And yes, if this had just been a pamphlet you handed out, I would not be talking to you.”  Exactly.  Boy, our job would be so much easier if all we did was pass out pamphlets!  But that doesn’t get the work done.  That doesn’t engage the pro-aborts, fence-sitters, and even pro-lifers in a way that makes them want to come and hash it out.

Several African American students were touched by the pictures. Many of them spoke with Jane Bullington:

Look. See. Stop. Help.  “I didn’t want to look, but I had to look,” she said.  Jane asked her if she considered herself pro-life.  She did.  Jane replied, “Then I am glad you looked because when we realize how evil it is we will step into someone’s life and say, “Don’t.  I will help you.”

The “but” gets folks killed.  Another co-ed said, “They are little human beings.  I wouldn’t, but …”  The word “but” in this case is deadly, so Jane gently explained slavery “choice.”  A lightbulb went off!  “Well when you put it like that, I have just changed my mind.  I understand what you are saying.”

Big and tall, small and frail.  A big and tall young man was taken aback by the smallness and frailty of his fellow citizens.  “Wow! I had no that this is what abortion was.  They are so tiny!  And that is a hand!”

Need to see. “It’s gruesome,” she said.  “I didn’t know how developed it is so early. People do need to see.  Maybe they will make different decisions.”  It’s sentiments like that that will help to save the black community from pre-natal annihilation.

Conflicted to concluding.  Another young woman was not so sure as her schoolmate.  “It’s hard to look at, but I’m conflicted because it’s a woman’s body.”  However as she spoke to Jane, she began to understand that it was another’s body and it was murder.  “Abortion is a hard topic that people don’t want to talk about,” she said, “but we need to.”

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.