A small but vocal anti-abortion group, Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform (CCBER), staged a protest at Humber Polytechnic’s North campus and drew a counter protest from pro-choice students at Humber and Guelph-Humber on Monday, March 16.
The anti-abortion group set up its signs, depicting fetuses and misinformation on abortions, as well as pamphlets that criticized abortion.
“They have vulgar signs, which a lot of people are upset about and it’s not even necessarily true,” said Ciara Morris, a first-year media and communications student at Guelph-Humber.
Pro-choice protesters said the images on the posters crossed a line at campus, where students may have had an abortion, or personal issues with the graphic images.
“To see that, when you’re trying to get to class, it’s disturbing,” Morris said.
The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform did not agree to an interview.
While some students acknowledged the group’s right to protest, they questioned the method and the impact of the posters and pamphlets.
“I’m all for education, and I think it’s important to spread awareness,” Morris said. “But it feels more like a shock factor than education.”
Other protesters raised concerns about how campus policies were being enforced during the protests. Evan Lane said they were not allowed to hold counter-protest signs by the Humber security guards, while the anti-abortion demonstrators could continue with theirs.
“They told us we weren’t allowed to hold signs because we’re not approved demonstrators, even though we go here,” he said. “But the policy they cited doesn’t say anything about holding signs, and that’s exactly what the other group is doing.”
The perceived inconsistency left students frustrated.
“It’s disgusting," Morris added.
Not all students align themselves fully with the protest, instead expressing frustration on how the issue is handled.
Abby Trapani, an esthetics management student, said she believes the conversation around abortion is much more complex.
“Our focus is on the wrong thing, it’s not great, it's the start of a life, but there’s a better way to do it, there are other options,” she said.
Trapani said the approach by the anti-abortion group felt overwhelming in a campus environment.
“It’s strange, there are so many different points you could take, I’m here to get my studies done, and having to deal with that is a lot,” she said.
She referenced the graphic images on the signs, making it difficult to see the message behind it.
“You’re also throwing a banner with a bloody fetus in my face, I don’t want to talk to you, that’s not my way of doing things,” she said.
Pro-choice students also questioned if Humber was doing enough to protect those affected by the display, referencing the email sent out to students the day before.
The email said:
“To the Humber Community,
The Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform anti-abortion group has indicated they plan to hold small outreach events at Humber this week. This includes: • NORTH CAMPUS: Tuesday, March 17 from approximately 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on the east side of the Learning Resource Commons between the building and the bus loop. We expect the group not to obstruct sidewalks outside of the building.”
Some students feel the response was insufficient.
“People have a right to protest, but not speaking out against this sends the message that our emotional safety isn’t as important,” Morris said.
“It didn’t feel like it came from a place of care; it felt like an obligation,” she said, referencing the email.
By 3:15 p.m., both groups had dispersed, with the CCBER group staying after its permitted time. In an email follow-up, Evan Lane said Humber security gave the anti-abortion demonstrators a five-minute grace period to pack up the demonstration.
“This, to me, honestly felt permissive of their message and hypocritical after they told us we could not counter-demonstrate. They ended up leaving close to 3:14, 14 minutes beyond their permitted time,” Lane said in the email.
