Anti-abortion activist Lydia Taylor Davis tabled on Bigelow Lawn on Wednesday afternoon, drawing criticism from students while debating them on abortion rights.
Davis, spokesperson and social media coordinator for Students for Life of America, visited Pitt’s campus on April 15 as part of her “Make Gen-Z Anti-Abortion” campus tour. Hosted by Choose Life at Pitt and drawing about 60 onlookers consistently, Davis debated students on abortion rights from under a tent that read “Abortion — Change My Mind” from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and gave a speech at the O’Hara Student Center at 6 p.m.
“We are the pro-life movement that’s actually helping women, giving them resources and support,” Davis said.
Julia Sadik, a regional coordinator for Students for Life of America in Pennsylvania, said the goal of Davis’ tour is to spread awareness for the anti-abortion movement and encourage discussion.
“We work with students to abolish abortion,” Sadik said. “If we can have [Gen Z] change their mind on abortion, that’s going to impact future generations.”
Inaya Khalid, a sophomore biology major, said she believes Davis should seek change on abortion policy by working with lawmakers rather than coming to college campuses. Khalid said she perceives the visits as an attempt “to make people mad.”
“She’s like, ‘Change my mind,’ but I don’t think that’s what she’s really here for,” Khalid said. “I think the way that she disagrees with every single thing that people say. There’s no point where she’s like, ‘I see that,’ and she just immediately disagrees, which makes me think she’s just here to argue.”
Kyra Kishore, a junior law, criminal justice and society major and the president of Choose Life at Pitt, said Davis is “mobilizing the next generation to abolish abortion.”
“Lydia’s big thing is having conversations with people, especially Gen Z, because that is what matters to her the most — her generation, our generation,” Kishore said. “She’s just here to have conversations with students on campus about abortion.”
ZaNiah Bussey, a first-year psychology major who stopped by the event while walking to class, said she believes women have the right to choose whether to get an abortion.
“I think that it’s crazy that people want to dictate other people’s lives. If you want to go on to have a kid, I think that that’s something that you should be able to do. But if you also don’t want to, that should be an option,” Bussey said. “I feel like [Davis is] trying to scare people … into making their decisions, which isn’t fair.”
While she disagrees with Davis, Bussey said she is glad students were able to voice their opinions and that the event generated discussion.
“I don’t necessarily agree with her standpoint, but it’s important to have conversations like this,” Bussey said. “It is an opinion, and you do have the right to voice it.”
Kirin Noel, a sophomore biochemistry major, expressed support for abortion rights and criticized anti-abortion messages drawn by members of Choose Life at Pitt on the ground in chalk that read “Your mom chose life.” She said she washed away some of the text with water.
“I think it’s very important to identify the fact that it says ‘chose’ because women deserve the choice,” Noel said. “My body, my choice — all women should have the choice to do what they want with their own bodies.”
McKenna Golembeski, a sophomore biology major, said she told Davis she believes for some pregnant women who choose abortion, it may allow for them to live more fulfilling lives. Davis then asked Golembeski if she thinks killing human beings is “okay.”
“I think killing unviable human beings is a valid way to preserve the life of people who can function in society and have thoughts and feelings because, in reality, fetuses can’t do anything,” Golembeski said.
While debating Davis on the viability of fetuses in the womb, Devon Cleaveland, a first-year applied developmental psychology major, said to Davis that a fetus’ sexual organs do not develop until about nine weeks after conception. Davis responded by falsely claiming gender is determined at conception, which received boos from the crowd and caused an attendee to shout “take bio lab.”
Anusha Dasgupta, a junior psychology major, said she stopped at the event on her way home from class and wanted to hear what students were saying. Dasgupta said Davis held a toy baby to bolster her arguments, which she deemed misleading.
“I saw her look at one of the students she was debating and say, ‘You’re a person, and this is a person,’ pointing to the baby she was holding,” Dasgupta said. “We’re talking about an organism that in no way, shape or form resembles the thing that she’s shaking around when she’s talking about abortions.”
Alyssa Hoffman, a sophomore biochemistry major, said she spoke with Davis to better understand her perspective.
“I wanted to learn more about why she believes what she believes and how I can better change my views,” Hoffman said.
Hoffman said she supports keeping abortion legal, particularly in cases of rape or incest, citing concerns about trauma for survivors.
“I think it’s wrong to put a woman through more trauma after rape or incest,” Hoffman said. “Even if some women don’t experience that, there are still others who do.”
Despite disagreeing with Davis, Hoffman described their conversation as respectful.
“It was a civil conversation,” Hoffman said. “It gave me more insight. I’m still learning about abortion, the good and the bad.”
Natalie Gerstein, a junior media and professional communications major, said she preferred to express her opposition to Davis’s opinions in another way. Gerstein said she handed out chalk to other students who wanted to write pro-choice messages near where Davis was tabling.
“I personally am not going to talk to her because I know I’ll get really upset,” Gerstein said. “I just went and bought chalk so we can oppose the messages.”
Sadik said varied responses are part of the organization’s goal.
“We want civil debate,” Sadik said. “We want people to ask questions and think about the issue.”