CBR has varied its visual message at the March for Life in Washington, DC over the years. What has remained constant, however, is our two-fold purpose. First, we are there to reach school children who attend the March, not because they are pro-life, but because they want to go on the field trip with their friends. These children need to know why abortion is wrong. Second, we are there to convict pro-life people that they should do more than just march once a year. 

Convincing marchers to take abortion more seriously is made difficult by the atmosphere, which is often more like a celebration (of what, we’re not sure) than a call to arms. More like a birthday party than a funeral. This sentiment was made painfully obvious this year by an individual seeking to draw attention to himself just a few yards away from our display. 

Standing atop a cart with a loudspeaker and dressed like a continental soldier, this man was blasting disco music and encouraging marchers to sing along and dance. Many enthusiastically obliged, reveling in the party atmosphere. Ugh.

The next moment, they realized why there is a March for Life. They were confronted with our photos of the dismembered victims of abortion. The juxtaposition could not have been more stark. It was readily apparent on their faces. The smiles vanished, replaced with appropriate expressions of somber realization and grief.

This misguided, disco-loving continental soldier could have set up his sideshow anywhere along the route. Fortunately, he was right next to us. His knavery, though regrettable, made our message all the more powerful. Our photos of the victims of abortion gave thousands of marchers the opportunity to reflect on how they can take further action to end legalized child killing.

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!

by Maggie Ferrara

Two years ago today, when I was 6 weeks pregnant, I was assaulted for speaking out against abortion.

My colleague Jackie and I were displaying pictures of aborted babies on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) when a girl walked up to us and started pouring orange juice over the sign I was holding. Before I even realized what was happening, she raised her arm and poured the remainder of the bottle over my head and face. Then she quickly turned and walked away. Shocked, we called out after her, “Hey, what are you doing?” But she remained silent. As my eyes stung and my face dripped, Jackie dropped her sign and flagged down the nearby policeman. The girl was arrested immediately.

Thankfully, we were each wearing a GoPro video camera, which captured the entire incident and made it all extremely easy for the Commonwealth’s Attorney assigned to my case. (See above.) The arresting officer, who was a VCU Policeman, mentioned later that the school was considering expelling her for her actions. That seemed harsh to me, but I didn’t know what an appropriate punishment should be.

Several weeks later, in a Richmond City court room, the judge gave her sentence: 100 hours of community service and a verbal apology to me (which she completed immediately). But that wasn’t all. My orange juice assailant, Rachel, had to write a three-page paper about the importance of The First Amendment and return to court to read it into the record. I couldn’t have come up with any better punishment!

Sometimes I think back to this incident and wonder about Rachel. I don’t really know anything about her except her name. But I wonder. What motivated her to pour orange juice on me? Why was she silent during her attack? Did she regret her actions immediately, or when she was arrested, or maybe not until much later? I assume she does now. These and many other questions come to mind. I also wonder if she still thinks about it. Does she think about me? She didn’t know any more about me than I did about her. She didn’t know I was pregnant when she attacked me. If she had known, would that have mattered to her?

I will probably never know the answers to these questions. But I can pray for Rachel, and so I will.

Maggie Ferrara is the Communications Director for The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. She has been a pro-life missionary for almost 9 years. She lives in Virginia with her husband and daughter.

This flight, now known as the Gimli Glider, is the most amazing airplane flight ever.  This story was an episode of the Mayday / Air Crash Investigation series.  The video (link below) is about 47 minutes long.

In subsequent simulations of this flight scenario, every crew crashed the plane.

Embedding not available.  Click here to go directly to video on YouTube.

Video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8w5LqlTwbhs