With posters of bloody, dead fetuses and pamphlets describing their cause, members of Missionaries to the Preborn were stationed at different areas on MSU's campus Thursday.
The group's main goal was to teach MSU students "the truth about abortion," said James Soderna, spokesman to the group.
"We should work to get that outlawed," Soderna said.
The group also stopped at Wayne State University, the University of Michigan-Flint and Central Michigan University as part of a four-day Michigan campus tour, Soderna said. He said they came to MSU on the last day of their tour because they heard it was the largest university in Michigan.
Of the four colleges the group visited, he said some, such as Wayne State, were favorable to their message, while others, such as U-M Flint, were not.
"(At MSU), a majority of the students took the literature and thanked me for it," Soderna said.
Soderna said they choose to use large posters that have graphic images of bloody fetuses so they can reach more people, especially those driving by in cars.
"We can't cover a lot (of ground)," he said. "Some students just can't get to it. We are trying to get a better audience."
Aaron Mosier, who received his master's degree in applied mathematics from MSU in May, said showing these images prevents the message from getting across.
"I know it doesn't work for me - it's more of a turn off," Mosier said. "It doesn't make me want to talk to them. It doesn't help their organization."
MSU Students for Life President Ken Curell said he didn't know who Missionaries to the Preborn was, but said different national groups and churches often come to do similar things. He said although other groups might give the appearance that MSU Students for Life sponsors these demonstrations, the campus group has no involvement in getting these groups to come to MSU.
"Their heart is in the right place," Curell said. "I agree with the end result of what they are doing because it is something we are all working toward."
Curell said he doesn't agree with the way groups like Missionaries to the Preborn go about getting their message across because he believes that, although the pictures they use are real, there is a time and a place for them - which is not in public on a college campus, he said.
"They are out in public, in people's faces," Curell said. "They don't know who is going to see it."
English education senior Anna Henning said she has seen similar demonstrations on campus and added that she does not agree with the group's tactics, calling them "gross and shocking."
"I guess it's good to have what it really looks like out there, but I just don't know how effective that is," Henning said. "It is frightening."
