The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) is helping the pro-life movement in Europe develop more effective strategies for activism and growth.

So says Neil Datta, secretary of the European Parliamentary Forum on Population and Development (an abortion advocacy organization).  Referencing an interview with Mr. Datta, Women’s eNews (a feminist online publication) wrote:

U.S. anti-abortion groups appear to be sharing their expertise with their European counterparts.  Datta cites the example of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, based in Knoxville, Tenn., which ran a poster campaign that links photos of genocide and holocaust next to images of aborted fetuses.  Countries, such as Slovakia and Poland, used a similar ad campaign to promote their agenda at the European Parliament and in public squares, said Datta.

Mr. Datta also described the linkage between good strategy and growth of the pro-life movement:

Datta said it’s hard to prove the financial links between U.S. anti-abortion groups and their European counterparts but signs of growing prosperity are obvious.  In Brussels, he said, for example, about a dozen anti-abortion groups have offices and professional staffs.  “Twenty years ago,” he said, “there were maybe two or three organizations in Brussels.”

See entire article here.

When you support CBR, you not only save lives and change public opinion in the USA,  you enable strategic pro-life activism across the globe!

What a smackdown!

One of the most fascinating — indeed, illuminating — exchanges to come out of the House Oversight Committee hearing Tuesday.  Here is Chairman Darrell Issa grilling Jonathan Gruber:

ISSA:  When you made these repeated comments [We wrote ObamaCare in such a way as to hide its costs; we counted on the American voter being stupid enough to believe us; lying is a huge political advantage, etc.] in an intellectual community with lots of other like-minded people, did anyone ever come up to you and tell you that what you were saying was inappropriate?

GRUBER:  Not that I recall.

ISSA:  I guess what you said was popular in that community.

What a smackdown!  But so true.  The “intellectual” class believes they do no wrong when they lie to you, because they are obviously so much smarter than you.

In the Los Angeles Times, Jonah Goldburg described the real genius of the smarter-than-you “intellectual” class:

[Gruber] represents the arrogance of the expert class writ large.  They create systems, terms and rules that no normal person on the outside can possibly penetrate.  They make life and living more complicated and then get rich and powerful off of their ability to navigate that complexity.  Time and again they sell simplicity and security and deliver more complications and insecurity, which in turn creates demand for more experts promising simplicity and security the Gruberians never deliver.

It’s not that Americans are stupid, it’s that the experts have been geniuses at creating a system that makes normal people feel stupid.

Today is the anniversary of the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.  The following day, President Roosevelt gave one of the great speeches of all time.  Here is my list of the greatest speeches of World War II.  (See videos below.)

• Day of Infamy — Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, December 8, 1941
• Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat — Sir Winston Churchill, May 13, 1940
• Finest Hour — Sir Winston Churchill, June 18, 1940
• Japanese Surrender Ceremony — Gen. Douglas MacArthur, September 2, 1945
• The Guns Are Silent — Gen. Douglass MacArthur, September 2, 1945
• The Boys of Pointe du Hoc — Pres. Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984
• Tear Down This Wall — Pres. Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987

What would you add to this list?

Day of Infamy — Pres. Franklin Roosevelt, December 8, 1941

With confidence in our armed forces — with the unbounding determination of our people — we will gain the inevitable triumph — so help us God.

Blood, Toil, Tears, and Sweat — Sir Winston Churchill, May 13, 1940

I would say to the House, as I said to those who have joined this government: “I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat.”  We have before us an ordeal of the most grievous kind.  We have before us many, many long months of struggle and of suffering.  You ask, what is our policy?  I can say: It is to wage war, by sea, land and air, with all our might and with all the strength that God can give us; to wage war against a monstrous tyranny, never surpassed in the dark, lamentable catalogue of human crime.  That is our policy.  You ask, what is our aim?  I can answer in one word: It is victory, victory at all costs, victory in spite of all terror, victory, however long and hard the road may be; for without victory, there is no survival.  Let that be realized …

Finest Hour — Sir Winston Churchill, June 8, 1940 (conclusion only)

Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this Island or lose the war.  If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be free and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.  But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new Dark Age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science.  Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that, if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, “This was their finest hour.”

Japanese Surrender Ceremony — Gen. Douglas MacArthur, September 2, 1945
Note: Many of my generation owe our lives to Gen. MacArthur. He brought our fathers home alive. During the next 5 years, he would prove to be the greatest emperor Japan ever had.

The video left out some of Gen. MacArthur’s introductory remarks, but you can link to complete audio of Gen. MacArthur’s introductory remarks here.  (source)

It is my earnest hope and indeed the hope and indeed the hope of all mankind that from this solemn occasion a better world shall emerge out of the blood and carnage of the past — a world founded upon faith and understanding — a world dedicated to the dignity of man and the fulfillment of his most cherished wish — for freedom, tolerance and justice.  …  Let us pray that peace be now restored to the world and that God will preserve it always.

Link to full text of Gen. MacArthur’s remarks here.

The Guns Are Silent — Gen. Douglas MacArthur, September 2, 1945
Immediately after the surrender ceremony, Gen. MacArthur addressed the American public via radio.  We could find no video link but you can link to audio of The Guns Are Silent here.

As I look back on the long, tortuous trail from those grim days of Bataan and Corregidor, when an entire world lived in fear, when democracy was on the defensive everywhere, when modern civilization trembled in the balance, I thank a merciful God that He has given us the faith, the courage and the power from which to mold victory.

Link to audio of The Guns Are Silent.  (source)

The Boys of Pointe du Hoc — Pres. Ronald Reagan, June 6, 1984

Why?  Why did you do it?  What impelled you to put aside the instinct for self-preservation and risk your lives to take these cliffs?  What inspired all the men of the armies that met here?  We look at you, and somehow we know the answer.  It was faith and belief; …

Tear Down This Wall — Pres. Ronald Reagan, June 12, 1987

General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace, if you seek prosperity for the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, if you seek liberalization: Come here to this gate!  Mr. Gorbachev, open this gate!  Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall!

Ruby Nicdao

by Ruby Nicdao

We overlook flippant comments, because it is critical to engage people with opposing or dismissive views and help them reason.

As one couple walked hand-in-hand past our display, I offered a brochure and asked what they thought.  The guy answered, “I’m an art student, so I’m indifferent to this.”  His girlfriend smiled at the retort.

Ignoring his dismissive attitude, I asked, “Okay, so what do you think of our artistic layout?  Do you agree with our comparisons?”

He responded, “Yes, I would agree with the comparison.”  He pointed to the dismembered baby’s hands and feet wrapped around the top of a quarter (an obvious national symbol) and remarked, “That looks like America stands behind abortion.”  Even though he was saying it in jest, there was truth in what he was saying.

I pressed further, “Okay, I know you are being facetious, but do you think the the pre-born is a human life?”  He said he did, but that he is not a female and this was not his choice to make.

I pushed further, “If this were a toddler and her mother tried to kill this toddler, would you stand up for this child?”  He said he would.  [This is a variant of the trot out the toddler argument.]

I continued, “Okay.  So if your girlfriend became pregnant and she wanted an abortion—and you just admitted that the pre-born is a human life—would you stand up and speak up for your child?”

He then said, “Yes, yes.  I guess I would.”

This one man’s shift of attitude won’t change the world tomorrow, but he did begin to think of abortion as a serious human injustice.  He saw the need to stand up for one child about to be killed, especially if it were his own.

Ruby Nicdao is a CBR Project Director in Virginia and is a frequent FAB contributor.

Virginia Project Director Maggie Egger explains how abortion decapitates and dismembers little human beings.

by Maggie Egger

Abortion photos don’t just make converts; they educate and energize people who are already pro-life.

At Radford University, a young man approached me and asked, “Are you the people I’m supposed to interview?”

“I don’t know,” I replied.  “We’ve had a good number of people interview us for their classes.”

“OK, great!  I must be in the right place!”  As he pulled out a notepad, he said, “I’m Catholic.  So I’m, ya know, pro-life.”

I told him I was excited to hear that, but from the way he said it, I could tell he was not strongly committed.  It seemed like he was raised in a pro-life house, but he didn’t necessarily buy all of it.

“Jacob” began to ask questions about the display, e.g., what was our purpose in being there, what kind of reactions did we get, what did we think of the protesters, etc.  He appeared to believe that the preborn are human beings, but he didn’t know much about abortion in general.  He knew the answer to “What is the preborn?” but he didn’t yet fully understand the answer to “What is abortion and what does it do?”

Then he asked me why we compared abortion to genocide.  Before talking about personhood, dehumanization, and all of that, I simply said,

“A lot of people say that our comparing abortion to genocide is ludicrous and offensive.  And you know what?  They’re absolutely right, if the preborn are not human beings, in the same way that you and I are human beings.  If they are not human beings, then (a) abortion doesn’t kill them, (b) abortion is no different from getting a tooth pulled, and (c) any comparison with genocide is absolutely insane.  But, as you and I both know (because science tells us), that every human life begins at fertilization.  So, abortion kills 1.2 million human beings every year in the U.S. alone.  I don’t know any word for that, other than genocide.”

“Wait, what?  How many abortions a year?”

“1.2 million.”

His eyes grew wide in disbelief.  He shook his head.  “Wow!  Yeah, you’re right.  That’s what it is … a genocide!”

We walked around the rest of the display so he could see all the different pictures, and he asked a few more questions.  When we finished he said, “Thank you so much for taking the time to explain all this to me. I’ve learned a lot.”

Yes, he had learned a lot.  And that knowledge left him more committed to the pro-life position.  That’s why you send us.  There are many more like Jacob, so please send us more places, more often.  And ask your Christian friends to do the same.

Maggie Egger is a CBR Project Director in Virginia and was the Project Manager for CBR’s recent GAP visit to the Commonwealth.

Rio Hondo College welcomes GAP to campus.  (Click on photo to enlarge; see yellow sign in background.)

When we expose abortion, two things happen.  People who have aborted feel the pain of knowing, but babies are saved because of knowing.

“I might be pregnant now and I’ve been thinking about having an abortion.”

CBR was at Rio Hondo College in November when a 32-year-old student approached our Genocide Awareness Project (GAP).  She had aborted her child some years ago and now lives with regret.  She is married but unable to conceive.  She told volunteer “Carol” that she thinks she is being punished by God for having aborted her only child.  Carol sought to encourage her by telling her how God works in our lives and by bringing up the possibility of adoption.

“Rhonda,” the wife/girlfriend of a campus security guard, asked Carol about people’s response to GAP.  As they talked, Carol shared her own testimony of having aborted, the deep regret, and how it has affected her life.   Then Rhonda told her own situation to Carol, “I might be pregnant now and I’ve been thinking about having an abortion.”

Carol told her about the student who aborted and now cannot have children.  Rhonda had never thought of that possible consequence.  She was worried about the economics of raising a child, citing a $400,000 figure she had read.  Carol helped her understand that those numbers do not reflect most people’s needs; Carol had been raised without her parents having much money, but there was always love in the home.  At the end of the conversation Rhonda said, “I don’t think I’ll have that abortion now.”

Three women came up to CBR’s Lois Cunningham and one asked what Lois would tell a woman who was contemplating abortion.  Lois told her we would (1) show the abortion pictures to educate her, (2) be sure the woman has adequate support in her life, including supportive family and friends, if at all possible, and (3) take her to a pregnancy help center/clinic for services.  The lead woman than told Lois that she has a friend who is pregnant and planning to abort, but she was now going to show her friend our photo brochure and tell her about pregnancy help clinics.

These are only two of the babies who may have been saved as a result of CBR’s presence on campus.  If you will help us, we are committed to showing students the truth about abortion so we can spare them and their children from the brutality of abortion.