The Morris Sun Tribune reports in a news brief, Kristin Hawkins Lecture:
There will be a guest lecture featuring speaker Kristin Hawkins on Tuesday, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. in the Science Auditorium (2950). Hawkins will deliver “The Ugly Truth about Abortion: How It Does More Than Just Kill Babies,” on behalf of Students for Life of America and the Young America’s Foundation. This event is free and open to the public.
A photo shared on Facebook lists "College Republicans" as the program's presenters. Hawkins is a prominent national activist.
Via Fox News 2 in St. Louis, CNN's Alexandra Jaffe reported in January's Abortion poses challenge for GOP in 2016:
By the size of the crowds and the enthusiasm of the speakers, it was impossible to tell that just the night before, Republican leaders on Capitol Hill had spiked one of social conservatives’ biggest priorities, a bill banning abortion after the 20th week of pregnancy.
The scramble over the bill behind closed doors was the latest in a series of conflicts within the caucus, and again underscored the challenge facing the GOP as they head into a presidential election year: How to expand the party’s appeal with untapped demographic groups, while still appeasing their conservative base.
That was the concern raised by Rep. Renee Ellmers, the North Carolina Republican who, along with a group of GOP women and centrists in the party, led the successful effort to get the bill pulled.
“The first vote we take, or the second vote, or the fifth vote, shouldn’t be on an issue where we know that millennials—social issues just aren’t as important [to them],” she told National Journal last week.
And few dozen protesters, mostly college students and older activists, gathered outside Ellmers’ office after the march to express their frustration with her move. One, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins, called Ellmers a “coward” for previously supporting a similar bill, before working to block this one.
But asked whether candidates should run on the abortion issue if they hope to appeal to millennials, she demurred.
“Obviously, there are a ton of important issues that millennials care about…but I think they shouldn’t shy away from it,” she said.
While Morris is located in Minnesota House District 12A, a district in which both 2014 candidates were pro-life (the DFL incumbent Jay McNamar was the Minnesota Concerned Citizens' for Life endorsed candidate; he lost to Jeff Backer).
Home to a liberal arts campus and somewhat more progressive than much of the rest of the district, Morris as a stop for Hawkins should help the College Republicans connect with both anti-choice students and the broader community.
Photo: Image shared on Facebook by friends of Rep. Jeff Backer (R-Browns Valley).
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