Blatant, obscene, ridiculous -ÿthese are just a few words that come to mind when thinking about the anti-abortion activist planes and billboard buses that circled campus Tuesday.

Don’t get us wrong, we’re all for freedom of speech. But is forcing people to stare at an aborted fetus while stuck in traffic trying to get to class really necessary?

The displays were from the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. The group’s line of thought must have been if politics is in the air, so should a photo of a 10-week-old aborted fetus. With upcoming elections, it was all a simpleton’s attempt to influence voters with the complex issue of abortion.

This brings us to our first point. Many of the people subjected to the viewing of the photos were not of voting age. There are more than just college-aged students who live in Kent and Akron (the two places the buses drove through and planes flew over). What would you tell your 5-year-old child if you drove past one of these buses? It’s inappropriate. And the photo borders on obscene.

Second, could anyone really read what the plane banner said? No, but it was still effective enough because it got people talking. You couldn’t avoid staring at the disruptive plane and its propaganda as you were walking to class, to dinner, to your home.

Doesn’t that make you feel a little violated? They picked the Kent community at its most vulnerable and ran with it. Those who saw the plane or the buses had no choice but to look at it. That seems to go against all the ideals of freedom of speech, which is these activists’ biggest defense for being allowed to show those photos. Freedom of speech dictates that people should be able to turn off what they don’t want to see or hear.

But then again, that’s just what these people want -ÿabsolutely no choice.

Finally, the message these banners sent was just like any other propaganda message – a surface examination of a complex situation. They make it seem as if having an abortion is an easy decision and one only affecting college-aged women. Despite what the group may think, the decision to have an abortion cannot be an easy one. And why do we seem like easy, swayable targets?

We’ve got bad news for the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. Kent State is not that gullible.

The issue of abortion is one political view most people already have determined in their minds. Those planes and buses did nothing but incite anger or applause.

This editorial board can’t stress enough that the right to an abortion is just that – a right. It’s the woman’s body and the woman’s decision. And these outrageous attempts to sway your vote should be ignored.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform would like you to think that anyone who believes in a woman’s right to an abortion is a murderer. But just because a woman or man is pro-choice doesn’t mean she or he is pro-abortion. Many pro-choice activists could never have an abortion themselves, but strongly support a woman’s right to make that decision.

Keep that in mind when you are voting this November. Don’t make us rent a plane.

The above editorial is the consensus opinion of the Daily Kent Stater editorial board.