Mysterious and brightly-colored origami butterflies were scattered through Seattle this week, and when the paper unfolded a message read, “You are not safe.”
Stamped with Thursday’s date, the butterflies intrigued many in the community: some flyers had illustrations of Kurt Cobain, Russell Wilson, and the city skyline. But many residents took to social media to express anxiety over a flyer with one side showing the city intact, and the other with the missing Space Needle.
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Some people considered alternate routes to work – as the flyer and butterflies were distributed near the Amazon campus, the Fremont troll statue, and other high traffic areas. KIRO 7 News talked to police on Wednesday who said there was no indication of a threat, and that it was likely some kind of marketing campaign.
Users on Reddit speculated similarly. The flyers had a website with the name, "All Gods Must Die." They guessed it could be related to a band, a story-telling game, or possibly an anti-abortion campaign.
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Of the hundreds who participated talking about the campaign on social media, most hoped it was not the last possibility. But the campaign’s “All God’s Must Die” website flipped into just that on Thursday morning. KIRO 7 News is not listing the web address due to graphic content.
This is part of the group “Abolish Human Abortion,” and they use extreme messages and graphic photographs in their campaigns.
It’s unclear if the group is local. On Thursday, the group wrote on its Facebook page that people from around the nation came to Seattle this week. Photos shared from the Fremont area showed people wearing the shirts with similar rhetoric as the flyers.
The reveal of the message behind the butterflies comes on International Safe Abortion Day. Organized by the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights, it’s a day where pro-choice advocates rally and inform about safe abortion practices and women’s health.
Many pro-choice supporters encouraged donations to Planned Parenthood in the wake of this campaign. KIRO 7 reached out to the local office asking about impacts, but they did not want to provide a statement.
As for the pro-life movement, we talked to the Washington State affiliate of National Right to Life Committee —the oldest and largest pro-life organization – about the tactics.
They reiterated that they are not involved with the flyers, and were concerned with the distribution of the butterflies and website content.
“We are compassionate. We do not use graphic images because we are concerned about their negative impact on post-abortive women and young children. We support outreaches to help women process the pain of pregnancy loss,” Human Life of Washington sent KIRO 7 in a statement.
Thursday was also a day of major abortion decisions in Illinois and Kentucky. Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner signed legislation allowing state health insurance and Medicaid coverage for abortions, and a law in Kentucky requiring doctors to conduct an ultrasound exam before an abortion was struck down.