Anti-abortion activist Lydia Taylor Davis tabled on Bigelow Lawn on Wednesday afternoon, drawing criticism from students while debating them on abortion rights.<\/p>\n
Davis, spokesperson and social media coordinator for Students for Life of America<\/a>, visited Pitt\u2019s campus on April 15 as part of her \u201cMake Gen-Z Anti-Abortion\u201d campus tour.<\/a> Hosted by Choose Life at Pitt<\/a> and drawing about 60 onlookers consistently, Davis debated students on abortion rights from under a tent that read \u201cAbortion \u2014 Change My Mind\u201d from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. and gave a speech at the O\u2019Hara Student Center at 6 p.m.<\/p>\n \u201cWe are the pro-life movement that\u2019s actually helping women, giving them resources and support,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n Julia Sadik, a regional coordinator for Students for Life of America in Pennsylvania, said the goal of Davis\u2019 tour is to spread awareness for the anti-abortion movement and encourage discussion.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe work with students to abolish abortion,\u201d Sadik said. \u201cIf we can have [Gen Z] change their mind on abortion, that\u2019s going to impact future generations.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cto make people mad.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cShe\u2019s like, \u2018Change my mind,\u2019 but I don\u2019t think that\u2019s what she\u2019s really here for,\u201d Khalid said. \u201cI think the way that she disagrees with every single thing that people say. There\u2019s no point where she\u2019s like, \u2018I see that,\u2019 and she just immediately disagrees, which makes me think she\u2019s just here to argue.\u201d<\/p>\n Kyra Kishore, a junior law, criminal justice and society major and the president of Choose Life at Pitt, said Davis is \u201cmobilizing the next generation to abolish abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cLydia\u2019s big thing is having conversations with people, especially Gen Z, because that is what matters to her the most \u2014 her generation, our generation,\u201d Kishore said. \u201cShe\u2019s just here to have conversations with students on campus about abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that it\u2019s crazy that people want to dictate other people\u2019s lives. If you want to go on to have a kid, I think that that\u2019s something that you should be able to do. But if you also don\u2019t want to, that should be an option,\u201d Bussey said. \u201cI feel like [Davis is] trying to scare people \u2026 into making their decisions, which isn\u2019t fair.\u201d<\/p>\n While she disagrees with Davis, Bussey said she is glad students were able to voice their opinions and that the event generated discussion.<\/p>\n \u201cI don\u2019t necessarily agree with her standpoint, but it\u2019s important to have conversations like this,\u201d Bussey said. \u201cIt is an opinion, and you do have the right to voice it.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cYour mom chose life.\u201d She said she washed away some of the text with water.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s very important to identify the fact that it says \u2018chose\u2019 because women deserve the choice,\u201d Noel said. \u201cMy body, my choice \u2014 all women should have the choice to do what they want with their own bodies.\u201d<\/p>\n 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 \u201cokay.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI 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\u2019t do anything,\u201d Golembeski said.<\/p>\n 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\u2019 sexual organs do not develop until about nine weeks<\/a> after conception. Davis responded by falsely claiming gender is determined at conception<\/a>, which received boos from the crowd and caused an attendee to shout \u201ctake bio lab.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI saw her look at one of the students she was debating and say, \u2018You\u2019re a person, and this is a person,\u2019 pointing to the baby she was holding,\u201d Dasgupta said. \u201cWe\u2019re talking about an organism that in no way, shape or form resembles<\/a> the thing that she\u2019s shaking around when she\u2019s talking about abortions.\u201d<\/p>\n Alyssa Hoffman, a sophomore biochemistry major, said she spoke with Davis to better understand her perspective.<\/p>\n \u201cI wanted to learn more about why she believes what she believes and how I can better change my views,\u201d Hoffman said.<\/p>\n Hoffman said she supports keeping abortion legal, particularly in cases of rape or incest, citing concerns about trauma for survivors.<\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s wrong to put a woman through more trauma after rape or incest,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cEven if some women don\u2019t experience that, there are still others who do.\u201d<\/p>\n Despite disagreeing with Davis, Hoffman described their conversation as respectful.<\/p>\n \u201cIt was a civil conversation,\u201d Hoffman said. \u201cIt gave me more insight. I\u2019m still learning about abortion, the good and the bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Natalie Gerstein, a junior media and professional communications major, said she preferred to express her opposition to Davis\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally am not going to talk to her because I know I\u2019ll get really upset,\u201d Gerstein said. \u201cI just went and bought chalk so we can oppose the messages.\u201d<\/p>\n Sadik said varied responses are part of the organization\u2019s goal.<\/p>\n \u201cWe want civil debate,\u201d Sadik said. \u201cWe want people to ask questions and think about the issue.\u201d<\/p>\n