Kristan Hawkins Debates Abortion at Boise State Campus

Kristan Hawkins, president of the anti-abortion nonprofit Students for Life of America, stood beneath a canopy tent behind the Student Union on October 27, flanked by microphones and cameras to debate students and passersby on abortion. The event was a stop on the “Feminists Lied: Prove Me Wrong” tour, part of a broader “Pick up the Mic” initiative by Turning Point USA (TPUSA) occurring at colleges nationwide.

The Boise State chapter of TPUSA invited Hawkins to campus to discuss the legality and morality of abortion, as well as the ambiguity and “deceptive nature” of an upcoming Idaho ballot proposition. During the two-hour event, students approached the microphone to discuss topics including in vitro fertilization (IVF), the legality of abortion, and abortion in cases of incest and rape.

Students Debate Hawkins on Boise State Campus

The event marked the first debate-style gathering on the Boise State campus since April 2025, when Charlie Kirk conducted his “American Comeback” tour. Among the participants was senior political science major Stewart Aronson, who spent nearly half an hour debating Hawkins on the role of abortion in cases of sexual assault.

I heard some POWERFUL stories today at Boise State University from women who found healing after abortion and women who chose life when it seemed impossible.No situation is too broken for Jesus to redeem. There is always hope, healing, and redemption through Him! pic.twitter.com/MXRMfmIQ2D

— https://x.com/KristanHawkins/status/2115204406367138250

Julian Ruiz, a freshman philosophy major who attended after seeing clips of Hawkins’ 2025 appearances at Montana State University, described the style of debate as a “good resource to combat your views or strengthen them.”

Opposition to the Event

Two hours before the 11 a.m. start time, the nonprofit BABE VOTE posted on Instagram urging students to avoid the event. A spokesperson for the organization, Sophia Lee, stated that the event was “not structured as a good-faith debate” and highlighted a power imbalance between the student body and media-trained figures. Lee noted that students featured in such videos are often subjected to “bullying, harassment, and even death threats.”

BABE VOTE further stated that Boise State’s Institute for Advancing American Values already provides environments for good-faith debating on campus, adding, “So it’s not really like an equal debate.”

Caleb Perkins, vice president of TPUSA’s Boise State chapter, responded by stating he respects the right of BABE VOTE to speak. “I hope that they continue to engage in a constructive conversation with us,” Perkins said.

Ruiz, however, argued that dissuading people from hearing a speaker simply because of a disagreement was “disingenuous to the central goal of BABE VOTE, which is to get people involved and voting.”

Police Coordinate with Security to Ensure Safe Event

Boise Police officers and officers from the university’s Department of Public Safety were stationed on the outskirts of the crowd. Tana Monroe, Associate Vice President of the Department of Public Safety, wrote in an emailed statement that the department coordinated in advance with the speaker’s security team and student organizers to support free expression and a safe event.