REPORT: Pro-life group counterprotests pro-abortion rally

Approximately 15-20  Students for Life of America (SFLA) members at North Carolina State University protested the Reproductive Rights March on November 6. 

“The Reproductive Rights March is a large, student-led demonstration sparked by the recent rapid decline of reproductive health care access,” according to the event’s website. 

SFLA staff writer Caroline Wharton told Campus Reform the purpose of counter-protesting was to, “represent preborn women (and men) who are silenced and killed by the abortion lobby, as well as pro-life women who are ignored and slandered.”

“Abortion kills and harms women, and I can think of very few things in our country which are more anti-woman than abortion. In contrast, being pro-life is holistically pro-woman,” Wharton explained.

The Reproductive Rights March was hosted by Progressive Students Task Force in collaboration with the Planned Parenthood Generation Action (PPGA), as explained in their Instagram post. 

PPGA is a group of “young people that fight for reproductive freedom, educates the campus about sexual health, works to reduce abortion stigma, and encourages our peers to engage in the political process on the local, state and federal levels,” according to the organization’s website. 

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Counter-protester, Ko Williams, told Campus Reform, “it was a tense atmosphere.”

Pro-life supporters shouted “pro-choice is a lie, babies never choose to die”, and “abortion hurts women, women deserve better,” according to The Free Pack.

Counter-protester, Austin Harrell, who is a part of NCSU SFLA, told Campus Reform he went out to protest the reproductive rights rally with the intent to, “stand up for the lives of the unborn and to educate people about the dangers and horrors of abortion.”

Harrell informed Campus Reform that while many protesters responded to the pro-life presence with cursing and name-calling, some were polite and even welcomed conversation. 

“We did have a few people that were polite and willing to have conversations,” Harrell concluded.

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Counter-protester, and member of Students for Life of the Triangle, John Klimek, had productive conversations with those who supported abortion.

Klimek told Campus Reform he was upfront about being pro-life and wanted to have a discussion with the pro-abortion students.

“I didn’t expect to change any minds after such a short conversation. But I think they were pleasantly surprised at how cordial the exchange went,” he said.

“Students unfamiliar with the abortion debate would not have been exposed to the pro-life position had we not been counter protesting,” Klimek explained.

When asked if Klimek plans to attend more pro-abortion rallies in opposition he told Campus Reform, “Absolutely. With the reversal of Roe, we’re looking forward to making the pro-life case to the people of North Carolina.”

Counter-protest organizer, Lydia Campbell, told Campus Reform that she was “met by extremists who told us babies born alive at 22 weeks didn’t deserve to live.”

The opposition to pro-life beliefs will not stop her, however. 

“North Carolina can expect to see us standing for life more than ever,” she said. 

NCSU PPGA informed Campus Reform they are unable to comment. All other parties mentioned have been contacted for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.