Dr. John Diggs a black physician who completed his medical degree at the University of Buffalo calls medical science his forte.
And Wednesday night in Peabody Hall" Diggs used more than just his forte to show students the negative effects of abortion. He drew from history and politics to support the pro-life position.
""If you say abortion is OK" you are saying it is OK to apply capital punishment to an innocent bystander" Diggs said.
During his talk, Diggs turned to eugenics to explain why black women only account for 13 percent of the population but are responsible for 35 percent of abortions.
Diggs said Margaret Sanger and other eugenicists held the belief that only people with the proper genes"" should be allowed to reproduce.
""The Negro project was an intentional design to convince black folks that they should voluntarily limit their production"" Diggs said.
But the pro-choice group Our Bodies Ourselves claims black women's right to an abortion reflects the freedom they have struggled to gain for years.
Controversy surrounding the issue of abortion has grown recently, Diggs said. Vandalism on UNC's campus, specifically, shows how the topic can breed incivility, he said.
Early this week, the Pit cube that Carolina Students for Life, who hosted his speech, used to advertise Diggs' visit to UNC was vandalized with an abortion rights message.
It just kind of all goes together with the fact that there is a definite pro-abortion bias"" said Ashley Tyndall, president of Carolina Students for Life.
The heading of the cube originally read Abortion is Racist"" followed by details of Diggs' speech.
Tuesday morning, junior Jennifer Boone, a group member and employee at the Student Union, found graffiti painted over the original pro-life message saying, No it's not"" stupid.""
""I appreciate this is a place where people who disagree can freely express that" but I think vandalizing someone's Pit cube is just kind of an immature way to go about it" Boone said.
Maureen Stutzman, a member of the executive board for UNC's chapter of Choice USA, said that unlike Carolina Students for Life, the pro-choice group has not been the subject of any vandalism.
If you write something on the cube that other people might find offensive" I think you are more likely to be targeted although it is extremely inappropriate as the campus should be a safe place for them to express their opinion" she said.
The recent act of vandalism against Carolina Students for Life is not the only one of its kind.
Last semester, Tyndall's tires were slashed and the group's storage unit was broken into and littered with hateful notes and expired condoms.
We claim to want to have intelligent debate" but it seems like you only want to discuss it if other people agree with you" Tyndall said. Other people are not willing to hear differing opinions on our campus.""
Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.
