Missionaries to the Preborn, a pro-life Milwaukee based group, held signs featuring bloody photos of allegedly aborted babies on the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Library Mall Wednesday while students and Madisonians played instruments and yelled to drown out the pro-life group’s words as a counter-protest.
Missionaries to the Preborn member Rose said the group visits universities around Wisconsin to share their beliefs with college students. Rose reports the group was at Marquette University yesterday and will be at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh later this week.
“College campuses are a very secular place,” Rose told The Daily Cardinal. “95% of scientists agree that life begins at conception. Not only does science say that, but the Bible and God say that, and God is creating life.”
Rose said going to universities is important because many abortions happen on college campuses. The group also protests at abortion clinics and do street demonstrations, like the one today.
“We do it [protests] everywhere, not just college campuses, but they happen here, so we went here,” Rose said.
UW-Madison student Milo played the trumpet along with other musicians in the counter-protest, and he said they decided to play their instruments to highlight their views.
“We think that women should have their own autonomy to do what they deem necessary and most beneficial to themselves in a case of unwanted pregnancy,” Milo told the Cardinal. “So this was our way of going out and responding to their protest, and we also figured that music is a fun way to counter the aggressive nature of the protest.”
Val, a UW-Madison student watching the protest, raised concerns about the pro-life protesters' children who were handing out flyers to passersby. The children looked around ten years of age or younger.
“I just think it's disingenuous to have children here be like your forefront to your cause,” Val told the Cardinal. “These children are supposed to be playing, reading, maybe doing some kind of activity. I don’t think they should be involved in this.”
Val also raised concerns about what the pro-life group is doing for children who have already been brought into the world.
“What are you doing for the kids that are already here to better society so that kids can live their best lives,” Val said. “Because I care more about the here and the now. How we can improve our society.”
Katerina, another UW-Madison student watching, stressed the importance of hearing both sides, even though she holds different views than the protesters.
“I think it’s important that all sides have the ability to speak on it, so I don’t think that there’s anything wrong with what they’re doing today, and I’m actually really interested in what they have to say,” Katerina told the Cardinal. “I do think that they’re appealing to a lot of emotion.”
Grace Carlson is the college news editor for The Daily Cardinal. As a staff writer, she's written in-depth on city Wisconsin politics, including the 2025 and 2026 State Supreme Court elections, as well as focusing on community coverage. Grace is interning at WisPolitics this summer.
