The folks of Appalachian State University always have a broad spectrum of responses when they see GAP. Here are just a couple from our most recent visit.

No time for truth.  “I won’t accept anything from your 7-year-old embryology book,” yelled one pro-abort, as if human development has changed during the past seven years.   We told her to go to the library and find a recent version to compare it to.  Her response?  “I’m not doing your job for you!  I don’t have time for that!”  After yelling at us for five hours straight, you’d think she would take some time to get her facts straight.

Some just get it.  During handheld GAP on a busy highway in Boone, NC, one man saw our sign about past genocides.  “I was in Rwanda when it happened.  The river was red with the blood from all the bodies that filled it,” he said.  “I was there to help feed people while they hacked each other to pieces with two-dollar machetes from China.”  Needless to say, we didn’t have to explain the signs to him.  He understood genocide.

Just over the state line from ETSU is Appalachian State University.  Many children live today because of our numerous visits to App State over the years. Here are some interactions from our most recent visit.

Gore meets GAP.  Not surprisingly, we were met with more pushback than praise.  Pro-aborts continually yelled obscenities at our team.  A group of them held signs with absurd statements such as “I like my government like I like my coffee—not in my vagina.”  One held a sign that said, “I eat dead babies.”  Sick.

When profanity is your only argument.  While some pro-abort protestors got creative with their signs, most had common pro-abortion slogans.  One said,  “F*** YOU.”  Hmm.  That’s an argument we never considered. We’ll have to go reconsider our entire worldview. 

Here is the last in our series on our recent visit to East Tennessee State University. We thoroughly enjoyed our time there. We hope that you have also enjoyed hearing our stories. You can read the first two installments here and here.

Older and wiser. One student observed that the pro-abortion students protesting were “all so young,” but that CBR staff were older and “older people have wisdom.” This appearance of maturity, along with the abortion images themselves, caused several students to break away from the mob and seek dialogue. If being called “old” means we can better expose abortion, then we’ll take it!

More proof that abortion hurts women. A Nigerian mother of three said, “It’s hard to look at the pictures. These kids are selfish. They do not understand.” She told us about when she became pregnant and her father forced her to abort. “I know I am forgiven by God, but I have never forgotten,” she said, “It is a great sadness.”

Oxymoron. The teaching of Jesus is one Truth, but the doctrines of demons are many, diverse, confusing, and self-contradictory. (1 Timothy 4:1)

One male yelled “I agree with you! We shouldn’t have a choice! We should abort all the babies!” We asked what good that would do. “I don’t know,” he responded, “I’ll leave that problem to the next generation.”

Lemme get this straight. The next generation, the one we kill, can tell us why it’s good they are dead. Riiiiiight.

The prodigal granddaughter returns. One student expressed her supposed hatred for the Church and self-identified as a “positive-outlook nihilist.” After a long conversation, she admitted she missed her Christian grandparents. They hadn’t talked recently because of her non-Christian lifestyle. Jane encouraged her to read the Bible to find Christ, and to give her grandma a call. Two hours later, the student returned to happily report the hour-long conversation she had just had with her grandma. Miracle of miracles, she even asked her grandmother to take her to church.

Stay tuned for our last reflections on ETSU next week.

The amazing Turning Point USA student group sponsored us at ETSU and they gave us so much hope for the future!

A campus divided. We were blessed to have a large contingent of fearless helpers. However, evil was also present in full force as students screamed falsehoods and accusations. Instead of responding to their absurdity outright, a family of GAP volunteers began singing worship music. Of course, that only made the mob angrier.

Safety hazards. One hateful student told volunteer Patty that he wished we would all die that night. As you might imagine, pro-life students felt threatened by this. One wrote us a note saying she wanted to speak with us but was afraid for her own safety

Twenty going on two. Some pro-aborts threw tantrums. They stomped up to the barricades, clenching their fists, screaming at the top of their lungs, “Get off our campus!” Again and again. Sometimes those terrible twos turn into terrible twenties!

Understanding pro-aborts. Still, God does work in the hearts of men. Some of the students broke away from the mob and found themselves in conversation with us. “En masse, they scream. In groups of two or three, they listen thoughtfully,” noted one volunteer.

Stay tuned for more from ETSU next week.

When a couple approached volunteer Tony at Cleveland State University this spring, he had no idea the amazing thing that was about to happen. 

They stopped in front of the Genocide Awareness Project and said to Tony, “We have an abortion appointment scheduled. What can you say to change our minds?”

Tony responded “If these pictures don’t change your minds, what about the realization that you will be the parents of a dead child that you paid to have killed? Can you live with that truth for the rest of your life?”

The couple were quiet as they contemplated the pictures in front of them and Tony’s bold words. After a little while, they left saying that they would not abort their child. 

Praise Jesus for this young family spared!

They’ve called themselves by many names over the years…Tigers…War Eagles…Plainsmen. But regardless of label, Auburn students were some of the most thoughtful we’ve encountered recently. And it sure was encouraging to us. No matter the type of response we receive, we know the soil is tilled, seeds are planted, and the truth takes root.

The pictures work … again. Gabe said, “I think you’re doing this work exactly as it should be done.  Put up pictures and let them work. It is so hard these days to have a reasonable conversation.”

Pictures don’t work?  Jennifer, a Christian student, didn’t agree. “My marketing background says this method does not work for this generation. It only makes them mad and they won’t have a calm, informed conversation with you.”

If Jennifer had looked around, she would have seen dozens of newly-informed students calmly learning how abortion is genocide. Like the great philosopher Yogi Berra said, “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

Yeah, they work. Alex, a chemical engineering student said, “Those pictures make me realize that abortion is killing a child. I used to think that it was just a woman’s choice.” That’s why we came!

Activating the converted. The pictures neutralize the opposition, convert the neutral, activate the converted, and energize the active. Benjamin, a pro-life student said, “Your pictures and answers make me believe I need to be active defending preborn children.” 

“You say it best when you say nothing at all.” Jane offered a brochure to a young man, which he declined. She asked if he wanted to talk. “I’d rather not,” he answered. As his chin began quivering, he walked away, obviously moved. Pray for courage and perhaps healing for this young man.

Courageous Students. We were invited by Auburn Students for Life and greatly assisted by enthusiastic Turning Point USA students. They even took some of our “Choice” signs for a pro-abortion rally later that day! We hope to work with these courageous students again soon.

It was lively in Chapel Hill, as always!

Failure of Christian leadership. “They don’t show you this,” she said. “They say it’s just a clump of cells! They’re lying! That’s a baby! This is really hard to look at.  It makes me angry.” Lilly is a Christian student, but had never seen abortion before. Her complaint was against professors who lied to her, but maybe she should confront church leaders who also hid the truth from her.

Powerful arguments? For more than two decades, we’ve asked pro-aborts to justify decapitating and dismembering little human beings. They can’t, but they gave it their best shot. Their signs and chants were not convincing:

•  Whose campus?  Our campus!

•  Go home!

•  My body, my choice!

•  If you don’t want an abortion, don’t have one!

•  You’ve taken away our right to be safe!

As they packed to leave, one of them, referring to us, remarked to another, “They really don’t have an argument.” Riiiiiiight.

Counterproductive. Tripp laughed. “This is awesome!” he said, pointing to the pro-aborts protesting GAP. “They think they’re hiding the message, but they’re just drawing more attention to it!” He was right. And we love it when a plan comes together.

Quiet support. Many students support our work, but fear reprisals. Jane told one of them, “Take this brochure and, under cover of darkness, give it to someone who is on the fence.” He took it.

Death wish. Please pray for these dear children who tell us they are so miserable that they wish they had never been born. We hear that often. We try to share the Gospel; some listen and some do not.

Thank you! Kathy said, “Thank you. This makes me so sad,” as tears came to her eyes. We thank you, our financial partners, for sending us to Kathy and others at UNC, because we can’t go unless you send us.

During our last visit to the U of Tennessee, we were greeted by a dozen women whose tops consisted entirely of small but strategically placed squares of duct tape. We can only imagine how much it hurt to peel those off. OUCH! 

Yes, they were pretty nasty. The level of hate is quite astonishing, but understandable. These children have been taught to hate their country, hate people who don’t agree with them, and, in some cases, even hate their own bodies.   They appear to have learned that lesson well.

Still, we were encouraged by a steady stream of students who stopped and thanked us for being there. Even on campuses that seem completely overcome with darkness, we always seem to find those few who are lights amidst that darkness.

Inspiring faith. Debbie Picarello was stationed near GAP representing Deeper Still, a post-abortion healing ministry and was able to reach many students who desperately needed it.

Julie was 19 when she aborted at 5 weeks.  She was sure God knew she wasn’t “ready.”  But now she is comforted by a little girl in her dreams.  The girl appears to be 3 years old.  Debbie told her many post-abortive women have dreams of their children in heaven.

Julie was not ready to come out of denial, but she did say, “Your faith is inspiring me today.”

Praying for courage to speak. Melody was almost aborted. Her dad took her mother to the clinic for a consultation. But when her mother came back the next day, sidewalk counselors spoke with her and took her across the street to the Hope Resource Center. This was Aug 18, 2000. Now both Melody and her mom are Christ followers. Melody realizes she has a special story to tell and is praying for the courage to tell it.

Ilyssa is a senior intern, returning to CBR for a second year. She just graduated with her bachelor’s in Anthropology from Cleveland State University (CSU) and is planning on getting a master’s degree from CSU next year.

CSU’s leftist campus made Ilyssa realize that many of her peers were misinformed about abortion. The skills she learned and the people she met while working for CBR last summer gave her the confidence and courage to start a pro-life club at her school in hopes of informing her classmates on the issue. The Club, CSU Advocates for Life, has done several events including tabling, a pro-life training academy (thank you, Fletcher!), and the Genocide Awareness Project. If you want to keep up with their activism, their Instagram handle is @csu_advocatesforlife.

“Pro-life students thanked us for being on campus, pro-aborts verbally attacked us, and those in the middle asked us questions. CBR’s display really made an impact,” Ilyssa said. She is excited to continue to bring truth to her campus next fall.

Ilyssa returned to CBR because she appreciates the effectiveness of our methods and our dedication to protecting humans and raising pro-life Christian leaders. “At our first GAP of the summer, hearing and seeing the reactions of the people we are reaching, whether pro-abortion or pro-life, really affirms the importance of what CBR does and my decision to keep working with them,” Ilyssa explained.

We are so pleased to have Ilyssa back with us!

We believe that God always makes special appointments for specific people to see the photos and respond accordingly, so we pray that no obstacles would prevent these appointments from being kept. Here are just a few examples from our most recent visit to Columbus State University in Georgia:

No such thing as unplanned.  “Rachel” was adopted from Ukraine as a teenager and is a Christian.  CBR staffer Jane Bullington challenged her belief that abortion could be okay in some circumstances. “Because God is God, and He knows, and He is in every situation, there are no unplanned pregnancies in His mind.  He will help.” Rachel walked away pondering these truths.

Calling all overcomers. “Cathy” grew up amidst poverty and abuse, which she is overcoming. She was glad to learn that there are resources for women in need and she took our resource cards to copy and distribute, so that students would know about pregnancy resource centers and adoption agencies near campus.

They say she should be dead.  “Eva” told us that she had been conceived in rape, so it hurts her when people say a child conceived in rape should be aborted.  How could it not?

Kennesaw State University students are always ready for a discussion. We had huge talkative crowds on both days of GAP.
The choice to kill. One student was adamant, “The mother should get to choose whether to kill her child.” He admitted abortion kills a “child.” Volunteer Brad asked if she should be able to choose whether to kill her toddler. He responded, shocking everyone, “The mother should get to choose whether to kill her one-year old!”
Brad escalated, “What if the child is 20 years old and this tall?” as he raised his hand to the student’s height. He walked away, muttering to himself.
Emboldening and Equipping. GAP often attracts pro-life students who want to be a witness. Stephen stood with us for hours talking with his classmates. Armed with undeniable truth, he was formidable. By the end of the day, he was a pro!
A history major encouraged us, “I speak up in philosophy class against abortion and the class gets quiet…But I’m not as bold as you guys are.”
A freshman said, “These pictures make me more informed.”
Many others thanked us. Some helped us. These pro-life students feel so isolated and overwhelmed by the non-stop woke evil around them. Seeing GAP on campus is a welcome change of pace.
Who are the extremists?  The Cobb County Courier called us “extremists” who make “false use of images.”  CBR-SE Director Fletcher Armstrong responded, “You called us ‘extremist.’  Maybe you’re right, but you will have to explain why it’s OK to decapitate and dismember a little human being, but ‘extreme’ to show a picture of it.”  To read Fletcher’s Letter to the Editor in full, click here.

We are thrilled to welcome Cody and Amanda Levi of Knoxville, Tenn. to the CBR family! A newly married couple, they will both be serving as Student Outreach Coordinators, helping college students be more effective pro-life advocates.

Amanda just graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor’s degree in Law and  Policy. Cody is a graduate of The University of Tennessee with Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Psychology.

Amanda was raised pro-life and has always been passionate about the cause ever since finding out what abortion is and does to little human beings. Cody grew up in Dayton, Tenn., in a family where abortion was never really discussed or even mentioned.

After meeting at the speech and debate club at the University of Tennessee, Cody and Amanda had many conversations centering around the underpinnings of the Christian worldview, which included abortion.  When he understood that abortion violently and intentionally kills an innocent, preborn child, Cody knew that nothing could justify that act of murder.

While at UT, they noticed that there was no pro-life voice on campus, so Amanda and Cody co-founded the Vols for Life to teach students the scientific and philosophical arguments against abortion, so that they could defend the pro-life position more effectively.

Cody’s and Amanda’s goals at CBR are to (1) expose abortion for what it is, and (2) motivate, train, and equip college students to work with CBR to change public opinion in society, because we can never change public policy until we change public opinion.

We are so excited to have Amanda & Cody on our CBR team!

by Brad Martel

I first learned of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform on Valentine’s Day 2011. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee was the keynote speaker at their benefit dinner, and I went to hear him. “The sanctity of human life,” Huckabee said, “transcends all other political issues.” I agreed with him, and I was glad to discover this organization that works to end the killing of unborn children.  CBR does this work not just with words, but with pictures that undeniably expose abortion for the evil that it truly is.

However, this event got me examining myself. Did I treat abortion like it transcends all other issues? In all the time that I had been pro-life, what had I ever done about it?  Beyond voting for pro-life politicians every year or two, I had to admit I’d done nothing.  But here was an opportunity to make a difference! So, I became a CBR supporter.  I chose to make a monthly donation that, while small, would be significant over time.

Then the newsletters started to arrive. Each time, I wanted to prepare myself to see the graphic pictures, so I soon learned to procrastinate instead of opening them right away. How awful to see the abortion victims again!  How awful that this even happens!  But I did open the newsletters.  I did see the pictures, and I read the stories.  Stories of young people responding to CBR’s campus projects, some with shock, some with sadness, and some with denial or worse. I appreciated the courage and persistence of the CBR team, and their willingness to spend whole days with the awful pictures that I could only promptly return to the envelope after reading the stories.

After a few years I learned to manage my aversion to the photos and looked forward to the newsletters.  I remained impressed with CBR’s encounters on college campuses and the reactions of the passersby, ranging from sympathetic to hostile to sometimes positively loopy.  I began to wonder what it would be like to serve alongside this group, to see what it’s like, and maybe even have some of these conversations myself.

In 2018 I reached out to CBR with a simple email.  Volunteer coordinator Jane Bullington invited me to a Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) in April of that year and promised me: “You will never be the same!”  Then came the hard part; I had to prepare.  I looked up CBR’s website, AbortionNo.org, and as the abortion video played on the home page, I found myself leaning back in my chair as if to shield myself from the real-life horror story.  I looked over the abortion victim photos.  I read Gregg Cunningham’s “Why Abortion is Genocide,” and learned how to compare abortion to slavery and other genocides.

I did not know what to expect on my first day of GAP at the University of Tennessee.  I had never met any of the staff before. I thought that perhaps, with the graphic photos and such a sobering message, I would be meeting a somber, melancholy group of people.  I was relieved to find that, though quite serious about the mission, these people have joy!  I came to understand this attitude in part as a sense of satisfaction in supporting the important work.  “There’s something special,” staffer Mik’aela Raymond said one day, “about doing something hard for God.”

CBR paired me with staff members and experienced volunteers so that I could learn on-the-job how to talk to students about abortion.  They taught me with both their example and with useful tips that they would share after our conversations.  I learned over time that I could do this, even by myself! Having gained some confidence, I wanted to learn more.  I read Stephanie Gray’s book, “Love Unleashes Life,” which urges us to focus first on the person standing before us, their background, and their needs.  I also read “Healing the Hurt that Won’t Heal,” Karen Ellison’s thoughtful book about the grief that abortion brings and how God can heal those wounds.

I volunteer with CBR a few times a year now, and though I have plenty more to learn, I am comfortable now defending the pro-life position to strangers.  I have met dozens of students at these events; some supportive, some against, and some who just don’t know where they stand.  I have had thoughtful conversations and some not so thoughtful.  I have been ridiculed and yelled at with cursing and swearing.  Not often, but it happens.  But none of the negative feedback matters.  What matters are the times that I have led a student to set aside the slogans and really think about the unborn child as a human being.

And even when those conversations are lacking, I remind myself that it’s the abortion victim photos and not our conversations that carry the bulk of our pro-life message.  The images affect all who see them, whether they stop to talk or not.  Each day that I leave GAP it is with a sense of satisfaction that my contribution helps others to choose life.

I cannot identify a specific moment when I felt a calling or experienced a revelation that told me I should volunteer with CBR.  I agree with what Lincoln Brandenburg said recently during his interview on The Pro-Life Guys Podcast: “Don’t wait for feelings of passion… step out in obedience.” Although I had no previous experience with pro-life activism, and I have a full-time job that affords me only occasional availability, I can make a difference for the unborn children of America.  I would encourage anyone with a heart for the unborn to volunteer with CBR.  “You will never be the same.”

Brad Martel is an engineer and lives in Knoxville, Tennessee with his wife.  They have three grown children. 

“It never occurred to me to be against using the pictures. It was just the most natural intuitive thing. Of course, this is happening, this is real, and this is something we’re outraged by, why wouldn’t we want to shout it from the rooftops? Why wouldn’t we want everyone to see what goes on behind closed doors?”

That’s just a snippet of what you’ll hear from our very own Lincoln Brandenburg on The Pro-Life Guys Podcast. Lincoln was recently interviewed by Cameron Côté, Western Outreach Director of the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform and co-host of The Pro-Life Guys Podcast. Lincoln talks about how he first was convicted to action, some encounters he’s had during activism, and finally encourages men to step up and defend life without shame.

Check it out on your favorite podcast app, or through the link here: HPLM 16: Lincoln Brandenburg – The Pro-Life Guys Podcast (prolifeguys.com)