A controversial protest from a local pro-life group raised tempers at Lethbridge College on Monday.
The group Abortion Awareness Project of Lethbridge displayed graphic images of aborted fetuses in the college’s Centre Core Monday afternoon around 2 p.m.
The protests were part of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform’s Genocide Awareness Project.
The group gave no prior warning of their protests to either college administration or LCSA.
Sarah Maljaars, a spokesperson for the Abortion Awareness Project, said the group hoped to raise awareness of the impact of abortion amongst the college community.
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She said the group uses the graphic images to draw a direct impact on the language of abortion.
“When people see the images, it contradicts the lies and euphemisms around the issue,” she said.
Maljaars also added the group did not notify the college in an effort to maximize the effectiveness of the protest.
The protest was disrupted when a student, Trish Divine, grabbed the signage from the protesters and threw it out the front doors of the building.
Divine said her actions were motivated by a desire to protect the learning environment of the students at the college.
“Lethbridge College should be a safe space,” she said. “Those signs and the things those people were saying were all detrimental to a student’s learning capabilities.”
She feels it can fill the school with hate and terrible energy.
Divine’s actions received numerous praise on the social media site L.C. Confessions.
The protest disrupted a blood, stem cell and bone marrow donor drive put on by the Canadian Blood Services, which had to end early.
Gwen Wirth, Communications Manager for Lethbridge College, said the college currently has no standing policy on protesters at the college.
“As we are a publicly-funded institution, they have every right to protest here,” she said.
She also said she is aware that the group plans on returning to the college to protest later on in the semester.
An email sent to students and staff yesterday by the college urged anyone feeling impacted by the events to contact the student support program at 1-855-649-8641.
Student Trish Divine (right) confronts Sarah Maljaars of the Abortion Awarness Project during the group’s protest in Lethbridge College’s Centre Core on Jan. 25.
Trish Divine attempts to remove the grahpic images displayed by the Abortion Awareness Project at Lethbridge College on Jan. 25 while being filmed by group spokesperson Sarah Maljaars.
