Archive for January, 2011
Contraception no deterrent to abortion
They always tell us that if we really wanted to stop abortion, we would just hand out condoms. We know it’s foolish, but now Planned Parenthood’s own report proves it. According to the Guttmacher Institute, the research arm of Planned Parenthood, “54% of women who have abortions had used a constraceptive method (usually the condom or the pill) during the month they became pregnant.” Over half say they used their method inconsistently, and about 13-14% report correct use.
We already knew this, but now we have their own data to prove it. Next time a pro-abort suggests that I hand out condoms instead of exposing truth, I will simply say, “Most abortion mothers say they used contraception during the month they got pregnant, but they got pregnant anyway. They had contraceptives in their possession, and they either chose not to use them consistently or the method failed to work. So how will it help stop abortions for me to give someone another condom if they won’t use the ones they already possess?
The student will scoff at the notion that aborting mothers were using contraceptions, because in their minds, contraceptives are 100% effective. I will give them more rope by asking, “Are you really sure you want to challenge that? Do you really want to say that I made it up?” In a debate, you always want to use the data already reported by your opposition; they have no choice but to accept its authenticity.
Then I”ll whip out a copy of the Guttmacher fact sheet and say, “I ask again, why should I waste my time giving out birth control that people won’t use or won’t work effectively?”
Pro-aborts: “CBR so effective, only censorship and bully tactics can defeat them.”
Pro-aborts: CBR tactics are "really effective."
We have many endorsements from college students, pro-life activists, political leaders, and others who have seen our work in action. But this piece amounts to the strongest endorsement we have ever gotten.
Freedom of (hate) speech: Confronting the rise of anti-choice activities on Canadian campuses was written by a pro-abortion activist in Canada who laments the effectiveness of our Canadian CBR affiliate. She is so frustrated by the effectiveness of our work, she believes only censorship and bully tactics can ensure our defeat.
The more sophisticated of our opponents know that any open admission of our effectiveness will only make our fundraising and recruiting efforts more effective. That is what makes the candor in this article so remarkable. Military intelligence officials who interrogate prisoners of war usually focus their questions on determining what their captors believe to be the most effective tactics being employed against them and why. Our abortion adversaries just volunteered that information and we didn’t even need to water-board them!
Some excerpts:
These on-campus battles are the new front line of pro-choice activism in Canada. But with anti-choicers setting the terms of debate, how can pro-choice activists respond? [Note their admission that CBR is setting the terms of the debate, which is exactly what we want to do.]
But one thing that they have been really effective at doing is coming up with messaging that affects the popular discourse, which I think is a really dangerous thing because it will eventually seep into the legislature and the courts. [Another admission that CBR is “really effective.” Note the recognition that our work on campus will transform culture.]
Anti-choice groups are using the free speech argument to win the public relations battle … [The author believes we are winning. That’s important, because winning is how the killing stops.]
These presentations and displays have provoked a pro-choice response in a way the activities of other anti-choice groups have not. [That’s because the activities of other pro-life groups, in the view of the author, are not effective and need not be countered.]
With anti-choicers setting the terms of debate, pro-choice advocates have had to grapple with the utility of confronting these groups head-on … [To this author, “confronting these groups head-on” means shouting us down and running us off the stage.]
A new generation of anti-choice groups is establishing a reputation for itself on Canadian campuses, with increasingly visible tactics that many pro-choice activists call discriminatory, harassing and hateful. [Note the significance of “harassing” and “hateful” labels, which could allow pro-life speech to be censored under Canadian law.]
The university administration is barraged with phone calls and emails calling for the event to be shut down on the grounds that it amounts to harassment and is offensive to women … Shortly after the event begins, a group of about 10 women and their allies enter the room, chanting and blocking the projector with the intent of disrupting the presentation. [The context of this passage is an explicit endorsement of censorship and bully tactics.]
… the CCBR legally constitute hate speech by inciting hatred towards those women who have or support the right to have abortions, and should thus be restricted in order to prevent the harassment of women. [Note the call for censorship.]
Unfortunately, it seems that the freedom of expression of protesters is not taken as seriously at McGill as hateful speech … [Note the dismay over lack of censorship.]
Do pictures work? Meet Abby Johnson! Today only, get her new book at 35% off!
She was the director of the Planned Parenthood abortion clinic in Bryan, Texas. But she had never seen abortion until one fateful day in September 2009. Her clinic was shorthanded and needed somebody to man the ultrasound machnine. She was asked to lend a hand.
In her new book, unPlanned, available today only at a 35% discount, Abby Johnson tells us what changed her from pro-choice to pro-life:
I could not imagine how the next 10 minutes [i.e., seeing abortion] would shake the foundation of my values and change the course of my life. (page 2)
The image of the tiny body, mangled and sucked away, was replaying in my mind … (page 5)
If she worked at an abortion clinic–even serving as its director–and was ignorant about what abortion is and does, how much more ignorant must our teenagers be, unless we show them the truth?
At a webcast I attended last night, I heard Ms. Johnson describe the process of changing her mind. As we have observed in others, she required a “sink-in” period. Even after she saw abortion, she didn’t become pro-life immediately. She started out by saying, “I’m still pro-choice, but abortion is wrong for me.” A few days later, it was, “I’m still pro-choice, but maybe abortion shouldn’t be legal in all cases. Eventually she realized, “Maybe I’m pro-life.” It’s a process.
Let me encourage you to purchase her book today. It’s important because the first-day sales can determine whether the book shows up on the best-seller list or not, and also whether it is displayed at the front of the bookstore or at the back. The more sales it gets on this first day, the more attention it gets, the more publicity it gets, etc. All the juice means more people buy the book and learn the truth about Planned Parenthood. Get your 35% discount here.
March for Life near you | Be there
Let me encourage you to attend a March for Life event this year.
National March for Life. The national March for Life will be held in Washington, DC on January 24. That’s where I’ll be, because I will be speaking at the Students for Life Annual Conference on the day before the March. I’m on a panel discussion on the pros and cons of showing graphic abortion photos. (Not sure which side I’ll end up taking.) CBR’s GAP exhibit will be on display alongside the march route.
Knoxville, Tennessee. Tennessee Right to Life, Knox County Chapter is holding their prayer service and march at 2:00 pm, Sunday, January 23, at Calvary Baptist Church, 3200 Kingston Pike. Alan Williams, WVLT News Anchor, will be speaking. Should be awesome; sorry I’ll miss it. After a brief prayer service, marchers will walk 0.8 miles down Kingston Pike and Concord Street to Tyson Park. Shuttles will be available back to the church. It matters if you are there. Here’s the link.
Atlanta, Georgia. In Atlanta, Georgia Right to Life will be holding their Together for Life Rally at 11:30 am, Friday, January 21, on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol. Rebecca Kiessling will be speaking. Here’s a bulletin insert for your church.
Send me your event and I’ll post it here.
Poll: CBR to host GOP Presidential leader in Knoxville!
Want to see the next President? Get your tickets today! A new poll from CNN/Opinion Research Corp. shows Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee leading the field of potential Republican presidential candidates for 2012.
Gov. Huckabee will be at the Knoxville Convention Center to speak for CBR / Pro Life on Campus on Monday, February 14. Group discounts available.
Please plan to attend. The purpose of this event is to raise money to save babies, so get a table and invite your Christian friends to sit with you. It will be a fun evening, and you’ll be glad you came. I promise.
Details at www.KnoxvilleHuckabeeDinner.com.
Would you like to meet the next President in person? Want to bring your best customers? Sponsors are invited to attend a special reception with Gov. Huckabee. Call 1-800-521-6692 for more information. Time is running out.
California: You think the Mexicans would take it back?
Insightful op-ed piece by Victor Davis Hanson, regarding California and it’s debt situation.
Yes, we are proud that we have changed the attitude, lifestyle, and demography of the state, made it “green,” and have the highest paid public employees and the most generous welfare system—and do not have to soil our hands with nasty things like farming, oil production, or nuclear power. And now we are broke.
In 1848, the United States paid $15 million for California, Arizona and New Mexico and parts of Utah, Nevada, and Colorado (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo). Somebody call the Mexican government and offer to return California. They can keep the $15 million.
