Project Truth raises questions

On Sept. 14, pro-life advocacy group Project Truth came to Skyline College to advocate their stance on abortion. Project Truth tours college campuses in the Bay Area and the visit was their first at Skyline.

John Edgar, one of the project coordinators, states their aim is to, “educate students and the humanity of an unborn child and the inhumanity of abortion.”

Project Truth believes that the government should not be funding organizations like Planned Parenthood, which they believe are pro-abortion. Edgar said that most men and women would have a different perception of abortion if they knew more about it.

“Our thing is that Planned Parenthood has been deceiving women for a long time, and they are actually selling baby parts,” Edgar said. “They actually tell women it’s not a human being.”

“It’s actually bringing awareness to a lot of people,” computer engineering major Cici Chagolla said. “It’s good to know, even though the details are really graphic.”

Many other students observing the displays and pamphlets felt that they told only one side of the story and that there is another side. Some did not feel comfortable with Project Truth’s take on the subject.

Project Truth uses graphics and prints to elicit a strong response, hoping the shock value will be enough to get their message across.

Abortion is a very controversial topic that is discussed from the highest levels of government on down. The two sides are very much divided, and each has very strong opinions on the issue. Skyline College’s response to Project Truth wasn’t entirely favorable.

“When I met one of the members he was very adamant on trying to compare an unborn fetus to the Holocaust and I thought it was absolutely absurd,” human biology major Victoria Rodriguez said, in response to the group’s presence on campus. “He also tried to relate it to slavery and his analogies and how he was trying to empathize with women by comparing male nurses to pregnancy…I had a hard time with the information that was given because there were no statistics and he was just saying things like lots of women try to commit suicide after having an abortion and I was like ‘can you give me like a number on that?’ He responded ‘why would I have that?’”

“Any group or organization on campus can be here as long as they follow the rules and procedure… freedom of speech,” Director of Marketing, Communications, and Public Relations, Cherie Colin said, when asked about the group being at Skyline,

Project Truth feels that even though their material may make people uncomfortable and not everyone will agree with them, that they owe it to their cause to continue battling for it.