Anti-abortion group sparks free-speech discussion

An anti-abortion group's display of graphic posters at Moorpark College has raised issues of free speech and appropriateness, particularly because children on campus for a multicultural day could have seen the posters.

The group Survivors of the Abortion Holocaust was on campus this month when Moorpark College celebrated its annual Multicultural Day, said college President Pam Eddinger. The display was not part of the event, which features food and music from around the world.

The Christian group's posters, which are roughly 4 feet high, show aborted fetuses. They were displayed along a major campus walkway.

Students from Campus Canyon School in Moorpark, who came to campus for Multicultural Day, were diverted away from the posters and did not see them, said Principal Stephanie Brazell. The school will meet with college officials about having students at the event next year, Brazell said.

Even if children weren't on campus, some Moorpark professors and students questioned whether the posters were appropriate because they were so disturbing.

"I personally did not feel well walking that stretch of campus," student Arshia Malekzadeh said. "I understand they have a constitutional right to be there, but I don't think it's appropriate."

The group has the right to be on campus even if its tactics are upsetting, Eddinger said. Like other public colleges, Moorpark is an open campus and can't bar certain groups, she said.

"It's important we don't infringe on free speech," Eddinger said. "But it's also important that we don't disrupt the educational process of our students. That's the balance we have to strike."

The anti-abortion group had told the college it planned to be on campus that week and had been told there would be another event on campus that day. But members did not know it was Multicultural Day and that children might be on campus, said Kristina Garza, the group's campus outreach director. If they had known, they might have chosen another day.

"If we had been given a full explanation, we probably would have been willing to change it. We would have considered it," Garza said.

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Anti-abortion group sparks free-speech discussion