Pictures and stories of people who have had abortions were on display Tuesday, Oct. 30 in the John Deaver Drinko Library Atrium.

HerdFREE, the local student organization of the national WVFREE group, sponsored the event.

“This event was to get the stigma of abortions out of a negative light,” Elena Compton, a sophomore Social Work major, said. “Abortion is such a hush-hush thing, but it is important to talk about and to get the word out about Amendment 1.”

Amendment 1 is on the ballot for West Virginia this year, and it is an amendment for the state constitution. Amendment 1 states, “To amend the West Virginia Constitution to clarify that nothing in the Constitution of West Virginia secures or protects a right to abortion or requires the funding of abortion.”

“This will make no exceptions for abortions even if the mother is raped or the fetus is from incest,” Chrsitina MacIver, junior psychology major, said.

The voting is for or against the amendment.

“The language in the ballot will say for or against instead of yes or no,” MacIver said. “We think this was done in order to confuse the voters.”

Compton and MacIver said they want students to know more information about the stigma of abortion.

“I want it to be known that one out of three people get an abortion, which is a huge number,” Compton said.

Compton said she did not think people know the abortion rate is such a large number.

“It’s individuals,” MacIver said. “There are transgender men up there also.

You know someone and love someone who has had an abortion.”

Compton said people do not talk about it, and it is important to start having these tough conversations that starts making change.

“WVFREE has social media outlets and the website wvfree.org has more information on Amendment 1,” Compton said.

MacIver said anyone can join HerdFREE.

“Not just cis women,” MacIver said. “Reproductive right is a big umbrella. We focus on anything from LGBTQ to environmental. Anything that can affect someone with a reproductive system.”

Pop-up displays of the stories and pictures will be in the Memorial Student Center Wednesday, Oct. 31 and Thursday Nov. 1.

HerdFREE meets from 6 to 7p.m. Mondays in room 143 in the Women’s and Gender Center. The sexual assault awareness group BeHerd meets before that at 5 p.m.

Gretchen Kalar can be contacted at [email protected].