Melisa Bieden didn't get to celebrate her birthday this week or get a cupcake in her name.
Twenty-eight years ago, her biological mother was raped, became pregnant with her and, against Bieden's grandparents' encouragement to have an abortion, gave birth and put her up for adoption.
She and others still got to eat free cupcakes to celebrate the birthdays that could have been when they passed by Cupcakes for Life, an event that UF Pro-Life Alliance held to promote its pro-life message Tuesday morning on the Plaza of the Americas.
Members of the organization displayed nearly 200 homemade cupcakes on a table and invited passers-by to decorate one with frosting and sprinkles.
UF Pro-Life Alliance Co-President Brianne Unhoefer said the organization chose to give out cupcakes because it wanted to be more "loving and friendly."
"Different methods reach different people," Unhoefer said. "This is another way to get them to think about it."
Some didn't agree with the message but liked the concept.
"My first thought was, ‘That's awesome,'" said Max Redmond, a computer science junior who is pro-choice. "I don't really agree with this at all, but I'm just going to take the cupcake and quietly walk away."
UF Pro-Life Alliance Co-President Gina Claveria said the organization has taken different approaches to spread awareness about its cause.
Two years ago, it co-sponsored an event with the Genocide Awareness Project in which photos of bloody fetuses were displayed on the North Lawn.
UF Pro-Life Alliance hasn't used the same method or worked with the Genocide Awareness Project since, according to Claveria.
"Most people say, ‘This is disgusting. Why would they put this up?'" said Claveria. "I don't believe scare tactics are effective at all. This puts the personhood back into the message."
Computer science junior Stephanie Sharp, 20, puts frosting on a free cupcake at UF Pro-Life Alliance's Cupcakes for Life event on the Plaza of the Americas Tuesday.
