No doubt if you've picked up the Sun Star this week, you've found a brightly colored, 12-page anti-abortion advertisement somewhere in the middle.

Many students are opposed to abortion; others are for it. I'm anticipating a few letters to the editor questioning why we allowed it to run. And so, I figured I'd tell you in advance.

My personal views on abortion didn't factor in; it was more a simple matter of free speech. That is, what possible reason could I have to not run an abortion ad other than I disagree with it?

Like any other advertiser, this group paid for its advertisement. And like any other advertiser, the group deserves to have its arguments heard. As a general policy, I'll only kill ads that feature hate speech, libel or nudity. This ad appeared to feature neither.

There was one piece in the advertisement that caught our eye, however. On page 9, an article discusses how Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood, was involved in the eugenics movement.

Titled "Reproductive Racism," it suggests abortion providers like Planned Parenthood have targeted minorities in large numbers.

Although the article is certainly provocative, we felt we should check to make sure its assertions were merited. After all, calling a movement or Sanger racist is certainly different than just saying you disagree with their views.

As I looked, I found the eugenics link had been widely reported, including by U.S. News & World Report. But I also found that a quote in the piece may have been taken out of context.

The article quotes Margaret Sanger as saying, "We do not want word to get out that we want to exterminate the Negro population…" But on Planned Parenthood's Web site, the organization says the quote has lost its original meaning, as she was writing to allay apprehensions among the black community that the birth control movement did have racial motivations.

Although the quote is out of context, we felt that was not nearly enough reason to deny the advertiser a right to place an insert, especially if we provided the context. And so, here it is.

In life, we'll always stumble onto things that we don't agree with. That's the way the marketplace of ideas works. But in my role as editor, I'd like to think it's my job to facilitate speech, not deny it. If you disagree with the ads' views, fine. Just don't expect me to not run the next one when you write me about it.