Center for Bio-Ethical Reform returns to campus in search of college interns
All photos by Shay MacLean.
Warning: The following article contains sensitive content regarding abortions.
On Wednesday, Oct. 28, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform returned to Lee’s campus for the third time, displaying graphic images.
“We were notified that sometime during the week of October the 26th, which is next week, a demonstration group from the center of for bioethical reform would be using the public right of way near the university campus to protest abortion,” said President Mark Walker in a video update on Oct. 23.
Just like last October, the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform came to the Lee University campus prepared to demonstrate on public property.
“Now, some of you may recall that this group was here last year demonstrating near the campus, and, consistent with last year, we have not given bio reform permission to demonstrate on our property,” said Walker.
Walker said local authorities determined the group is within their rights to protest on Lee University campus’s public right of way. This comes along with the expectation that the organization will not impede traffic or accost students. Walker also mentioned the university recognizes the organizations’ right to protest in these particular areas.
“We have several things going on. First of all, we go to Christian universities, and we try to advance the message to Christians that you need to care about this more,” said Fletcher Armstrong, the Southeastern Director of CBR.
Armstrong believes abortion is prevalent in this country mostly because Christians have not been effective witnesses against evil.
“We’re also here because we are actively recruiting students for our intern program … We would like to have 10 interns this year, and we’d like to have three or four come from this university,” said Armstrong.
CBR is an organization based out of California, but as the southeastern director, Armstrong is based in Knoxville.
“We work all over the country, but I primarily focus on the southeastern United States. And so, with our outreach to Christian universities, obviously Lee is going to be high on our list of priorities,” said Armstrong.
The protestors recently visited Liberty University, where they engaged with some students in discussions about abortion.
“The typical response is to say ‘I slew them not,’” said Armstrong. “So that’s the response that you see. And that’s why when we go to secular [and Christian] campuses, people say ‘we’re not guilty of murder, this is not a wrong.’ Then we point to the pictures, and we say, ‘then say that you’re not slain, but that they are’ … But that’s the kind of response that we get. People don’t want to admit that this is killing a human being.”
Acting Director of Recruitment and Internship Development Kennedy Harless says CBR is an organization oriented towards exposing injustice.
“CBR is more of a ‘exposing injustice’ type of policy reform focused organization because there’s different parts of the pro-life organization,” said Harless. “So there’s that aspect, then there are aspects like pregnancy resource clinics and post-abortive care. So we all focus on specific things, but there are general partnerships, which I’m thankful for because — let’s face it — seeing this (gesturing to the graphic images) is not helpful for grief. It’s not. But someone who is a licensed counselor, someone who can really work with that, especially something like Bible-based counseling with hope, would be helpful. So we’re on the same team.”
The organization has not been met with many counter-protestors as of Friday morning, unlike March 2019 where students blocked the graphic images by standing in front of them, displaying signs of their own.
Carsen Holaday, Senior Reporter, contributed to this article.
