TO THE EDITOR:
While we appreciate the Office of Student Affairs warning about the “Genocide Awareness” display coming to campus today, we would like to highlight the real ethical discussion that needs to take place on campus — equal access to effective and safe contraception and health services for all women.
Rather than graphic images that serve only to sensationalize a safe and legal medical procedure which further polarizes meaningful discourse, we should remain committed to addressing unequal access to effective contraceptive care and adequate social safety-net supports.
Efforts to achieve the mutually desired goal of reducing the number of unintended pregnancies and abortions begins with accurate and comprehensive sexual education and information starting in our public schools and continuing on university campuses.
Not only is the use of the word genocide offensive, it is also inaccurate. Genocide is defined as “the deliberate and systematic destruction of a racial, political, or cultural group.” Perhaps those organizing this “event” should turn their focus to a real ethical injustice — the racial and ethnic health disparities that exist in almost every important health outcome. These health disparities warrant the attention of our campus, not the repugnant display that the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform and the Carolina Students for Life are currently imposing on our community.
Lisa de Saxe Zerden
School of Social Work
