Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s niece visited Purdue Tuesday night to talk about her journey through post-abortions, once being pro-choice and now dedicating her life to being pro-life.
Dr. Alveda King spoke to an intimate crowd of nearly 30 to discuss her past when she had two abortions, why she believes people should be pro-life, and how finding the church helped her get to that point in a presentation she called, “A Culture of Life: Civil Rights Message.”
“We have recently heard about the Freedom of Choice Act, what I call the freedom to kill people openly act,” said King, who started the discussion with this line, paving the rest of the speech to center around her personal story.
One argument King posed was her confusion with the media comparing President Barack Obama to MLK.
“Dr. King and Obama are very different,” she said. “Dr. King did not support abortion and would be very disappointed that 50 million people have been murdered.”
She then recalled Obama stating he would never want his daughters to be punished by having a baby and said in shock, “He is willing to forego his own grandchildren.”
The audience was then allowed to ask questions; one man asked if King was disappointed no blacks were present.
“Does it bother me? Actually yes, because I think African-Americans should be here,” she said.
King used many biblical examples to support her points and said she believes God has forgiven her for her abortions and has given her strength to do what she does today.
Dustin Ratliff, sophomore in the College of Liberal Arts who is pro-choice, believes using God as an argument is pointless.
“It’s ethnocentric ideals ... It’s very oppressive and close-minded for people to say things like that ... You don’t know your imaginary friend is real so don’t act like it is a public form.”
After the speech, audience members were able to hang around and talk with King or pick up pro-life merchandise. Almost all of the audience supported King and gave her a standing ovation when she was done.
“I like how she related it to herself personally, and how she related it to MLK,” said Joseph Apple, a sophomore in the School of Aeronautical Engineering.