An anti-abortion group set up a tent and a microphone on the West Chester University quad Sept. 30, and students showed up to argue back.

Students for Life of America speaker Lydia Taylor Davis spent four hours under a banner reading "Abortion — Change My Mind," inviting anyone to step to the mic and debate her on abortion rights, The Quad reported. The event ran from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Security officers and police stood watch around the tent as counter-protesters held signs and took turns at the microphone.

Davis kept props on her table: two plastic fetus models, abortion pills and metal instruments she said were used in abortions. Lawn signs reading "I am the Pro-life Generation" and "Freedom for Preborn Babies" leaned against the tent. She joked about the bulletproof vest she wore.

WCU student C. Arriviello was among the counter-protesters who stepped up to debate Davis. Arriviello argued that abortion is healthcare and is lifesaving.

"We should be legalizing safe abortions so 68,000 women aren't dying every year," Arriviello said, referring to deaths from abortions performed outside medical settings.

Several claims made during the debate drew scrutiny in The Quad's reporting. Davis repeatedly held up abortion pills and claimed 32 women had died from them. The Quad cited a 2022 FDA report showing 32 deaths out of 5.9 million women who used mifepristone, a common abortion drug. Only 18 of those deaths were directly related to the drug. The other 14 were attributed to causes including other drug use and homicide.

Davis also said maternal mortality went down in Texas after the state's abortion restrictions took effect. The Quad noted that Texas is withholding its 2022–2024 maternal mortality report, making the claim unverifiable. A Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health study found states with at least six-week abortion bans saw about a 9% increase in related deaths.

Students for Life of America, an anti-abortion group with roughly 1,700 chapters nationwide, has trained more than 250,000 activists, according to Mother Jones. The group is also threatening to sue the FDA over its approval of mifepristone, claiming the drug contaminates water systems. A December 2025 Guttmacher Institute report found no evidence mifepristone harms the environment.

West Chester University, a public institution, allows outside speakers on campus under a standing policy on uninvited guests. A letter from the Division of Student Affairs says the university is legally required to keep its campus open to all speakers, including those whose views conflict with university values, and that Public Safety officers attend such events. The university has not issued a statement specific to the Sept. 30 debate.

The event comes five weeks before Pennsylvania's Nov. 3 general election, in which abortion access is a central issue. Gov. Josh Shapiro supports keeping abortion legal and accessible, while Republican challenger Stacy Garrity has described herself as "100% pro-life," WHYY reported. Pennsylvania law permits abortion before 24 weeks.

Voters head to the polls Nov. 3. Early voting and mail-in ballot requests are open through Oct. 27 at vote.pa.gov.