Student display aimed to raise awareness about abortion

About 800 white crosses were set up as a display on campus Monday, each representing about five babies that would be aborted in the US that day.

UK Students for Life put the crosses for “Cemetery of Innocents” in the area between White Hall Classroom Building and the Ralph G. Anderson Building to give people perspective on the number of abortions that happen, said group member David Burnett. An estimated 4,000 abortions are performed every day in the US, Burnett said, and this intended to be a silent memorial to them.

Greg Adams, the group’s vice president of events, said the option of getting a degree and the option of having a baby are often presented as being at odds with each other.“We really want to empower women to have their child and get a degree,” Adams said.

The group did a similar event three or four years ago, Adams said, but the display was vandalized in the morning before anyone could see it. He said the group received positive feedback about Monday’s display and had little trouble with vandalism.