Pro-choice students and faculty at Harvard Law School did not want their fellow students to hear a choice of ideas.
An event titled “Abortion in Black Communities” earlier this month featured Ryan Bomberger, co-founder of the Radiance Foundation who was conceived in rape, spoke, as did Diane L. Rosenfeld, a liberal who teaches Gender Violence, Law and Social Justice.
The event was almost canceled the night before after Rosenfeld noted it was “horrible” that abortion would be equated with “death” in the flier. She also refused to allow her portion to be recorded, according to Bomberger’s account of the event.
Bomberger, who is black, shared his personal story about being conceived in rape, as well as the poverty and abortion rates for blacks, which in New York City means more babies are aborted than born alive. Rosenfeld, however, did not address the topic so directly:
The poster assured that the “event will provide a safe space for students to hear different perspectives on this important issue and to ask the speakers questions.” Bomberger’s portion however, was met with laughter, scoffs, jeers, and finger snapping.
“The responses, during an hour-long Q&A, came flooding out in macro-aggressive tirades that desperately avoided the alarming racial disparities in abortion,” he also noted.
Pro-choice students interrupted Bomberger and others wishing to ask questions. The question and answer portion took on a confrontational tone with profanity, according to those accounts shared by Bound4Life and New Boston Post.
The event was co-sponsored by Law Students for Life (LSL) and Black Law Students Association (BLSA), the latter which “is a non-political organization and does not take a stance on the issue of abortion.” BSLA does not appear to have objected to the poster’s language.
The event was expected to have 50 or 100 attendees, but had a turnout of 160.
Bomberger has been a pro-life presence on campus before, including at Purdue University, where students engaged in pro-life chalking efforts to highlight statistics on blacks and abortion.
A short portion of the event, during which Bomberger spoke, can be viewed below.
