Operation Rescue Demonstrates in California High Schools

Operation Rescue anti-abortion activists have been picketing four high schools in California. Groups of three to twelve people have been picketing outside schools in the San Juan Unified School District. The protesters were part of a national campaign aimed at young people. But, so far, the tactic is backfiring. Shelley Benvenuti, a 16-year-old junior at Rio Americano commented, "I thought it was totally twisted. I was really upset about it. We are in high school and we know about abortion, and we come to our own conclusions about it. We don’t need people getting in our faces about it. It’s a disgrace." Pam Rubistky, who took her fourteen-year-old son out of school because of the protesters, commented, "I believe in freedom of speech, but I feel this is threatening to my child. If they want to teach my son something, they should go through the school board or the principal. This is totally inappropriate." Another student at Rio Americano, Sarah Campbell 17, commented, "I read the little book they passed out and it’s not factual. Plus, it uses religion in the wrong way. I’m against abortion myself, but I’m totally against this approach."

Media Resources: The Nando Net - March 14, 1997

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