Controversial anti-abortion exhibit visits Iowa State

The+anti-abortion+group+Created+Equal+posted+graphic+images+of+aborted+fetuses+around+campus+Wednesday.

Mackenzie Bodell/Iowa State Daily

The anti-abortion group Created Equal posted graphic images of aborted fetuses around campus Wednesday.

Mackenzie Bodell

The anti-abortion group Created Equal came to Iowa State Wednesday to engage students in conversations about abortion. 

Created Equal is a nonprofit pro-life organization based out of Columbus, Ohio. The organization focuses on educating the public about abortion through the use of graphic posters. Created Equal uses images of aborted fetuses to spark conversations with college students on the campuses they visit. 

The organization claims their displays have gained the attention of national and local media. 

Created Equal’s traveling team set up their exhibit outside the Gerdin Business Building from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday.

“We want to see people’s hearts and minds change on this issue,” said Created Equal staff member Marina Worthington. “Our organization believes that it’s always wrong to intentionally kill innocent human beings, and we believe that abortion does that.”

Created Equal is in the middle of its outreach tour, where they will travel to nine states to display their signs and engage in conversations with high school and college students. The states on their tour include New York, Indiana, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and Virginia. 

Before coming to Iowa State, Created Equal set up its exhibit at the University of Iowa on Tuesday. 

“When it comes down to it, this is a human rights issue,” said staff member Titus Meyer. “This is the biggest injustice of our time because it kills 2,300 innocent preborn humans every day in the United States.”

Staff members passed out pamphlets and engaged in conversations with Iowa State students as they passed. 

“I think that they’re really working on the emotional appeal with the posters,” said Iowa State student Kylene Hoven. “I don’t think that a lot of their points are really thought out very well.” 

While some students engaged in conversations with Created Equal staff members, some expressed their frustration with the exhibit being in the way of them getting to and from classes. Other students were also frustrated with how the exhibit was trying to provoke an emotional reaction. 

With the recent enforcement of Texas’s Heartbeat Law and upcoming decisions regarding abortion in the Supreme Court, Created Equal has faced issues with protestors at past exhibits. Due to this, security measures were in place throughout the exhibit. Police were seen walking around the exhibit, and some of the staff members had body cameras strapped to their torsos. 

To learn more about Created Equal and its mission, visit their website.