The students who brought the Genocide Awareness Project to campus last fall became an officially ASUO-recognized student group Wednesday.
More than just an anti-abortion group, its leaders say, Justice For All aims to promote the right to life for the unborn, disabled, aged and vulnerable. The group wants to educate students about alternatives to abortion and euthanasia.
“Everyone deserves the inalienable rights, which are God-given, to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” said senior religious studies major Tommy Stoffel, the group’s president.
Unlike many other anti-abortion groups, however, Justice For All aims to provide support and alternatives to couples and women faced with unplanned pregnancies, said Scott Austin, a senior political science major and the group’s fund-raising chair.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that we could find some way, somehow for them,” Austin said.
Stoffel said the group, which currently has nine members, hopes to establish an environment where couples and women will feel comfortable seeking support.
“We would be blessed if someone came to us for help,” he said.
The group works with First Way, an agency that provides free pregnancy and ultrasound tests, counseling and support to women and couples faced with crisis pregnancies. Abortion is not one of the options supported by First Way, Stoffel said.
Unplanned pregnancies are not the only crisis Justice For All plans to help people with. Students overwhelmed with taking care of elderly parents, grandparents or the disabled are also encouraged to turn to the group for support.
“It’s an all-around respect for life, all the way from conception to natural death,” Stoffel said.
Austin said the group would be happy to raise money to hire a nurse for an elderly or disabled person. Members would also volunteer time to relieve the caretaker.
While the group will receive money from the student incidental fee, currently its main goal is to raise money. Austin said members are planning to organize clothing and diaper drives and adopting a number of single mothers to support with food baskets during holidays.
The group is also planning an anti-abortion picnic in front of the EMU. Stoffel said Justice For All will work to bring the GAP Project back to campus next fall and make it an annual event.
Holly Wright, a junior double majoring in art history and history, said she joined Justice For All last spring because the group stands up for issues she is interested in and concerned about. She said she hopes to help people in crisis situations involving unwanted pregnancies make more educated choices although she realizes those choices are difficult ones.
“It’s so hard to tell someone this is what you should be doing because obviously you are not that person,” Wright said.
Justice For All members said although they cannot make choices for other people, they hope to help them make what they think are better choices.