We are delighted to introduce our newest staff member, Caleb Johnson! Now some of you may be thinking, didn’t they just introduce him last summer? And you would be correct! Caleb interned with us last summer and it was such a fulfilling experience for him that he decided to join us full time. We are so thankful!

Caleb grew up in a godly family but says, “I only became experientially pro-life after the bloodguilt of supporting an abortion destroyed everything in my life. I became actively pro-life after I was saved and delivered from my guilt.” God healed Caleb and then showed him that he needed to reach others with the truth.

About a year after Caleb was saved, he was struck by stories in the Old Testament in which God warned the people of Israel that they would be held responsible for the innocent blood shed in their land. Caleb couldn’t help but notice the similarities between Israel in the days leading up to that judgment and the current state of our own nation. In ancient Israel, it wasn’t just the directly guilty parties who felt God’s judgment. Ezekiel, Daniel, and others were innocent and yet they were exiled along with all the rest.

This is when Caleb realized he needed to actively fight abortion or there would be some very serious consequences not only for the preborn, but for himself and our country as a whole.

This is not the first time Caleb has fought for his country. He served as an infantryman in the United States Marine Corps for four years, including two combat deployments in Iraq. No stranger to confronting evil, he has now sacrificially committed himself to yet another war here at home.

Caleb started his pro-life activity by ministering outside an abortion center. However, he quickly realized that his success rate was very low. He wanted to find a way to reach people before their hearts were hardened, but sidewalk counseling was the only thing he knew to do. In what Caleb describes as an answer to prayer, his dad told him about CBR. As soon as Caleb heard about the Genocide Awareness Project, he signed up for our mailing list. When we next put out the call for volunteers, he joined up!

Wanting to be sure before quitting his existing job as a personal fitness trainer, Caleb decided to participate in our Summer Internship in 2023. At the end of the summer, he felt God was calling him to full-time work to end abortion. We are so very glad he is with us.

In his new role as Community Outreach Coordinator, Caleb will be training local pro-life leaders to be more effective by using CBR tactics and resources. Welcome aboard, Caleb!

Abortion education had ramped up at Cleveland State University for many months thanks to the courageous efforts of our former intern Ilyssa and her student group Advocates for Life. That prep work paved the way for our visit with the Genocide Awareness Project and resulted in many seeds being planted, watered, and even some beginning to bear fruit.

They can’t fight back. A male student gave every reason he could think of for why abortion was okay and even good in some cases. Tired of all his excuses, long-time volunteer Pam asked him to consider what abortion does to that child. That didn’t seem to make any difference to him. Finally, Pam said, “I think the only reason we can get away with abortion is because the baby can’t fight back.”  That stopped him cold, and he slowly said, “You know, I think you’re right.”

Let’s be civilized. As three female students pelted Amanda and Brad with rapid-fire questions, Marshawn, an older black man, listened silently nearby. They were interrupting each other as well as our staff. Eventually Marshawn calmly interjected, “Why do you have to yell?  Why do you have to use profanity?  If we’re going to talk, let’s be civilized!”  The three girls were stunned, but his words had an effect. They then restarted the conversation, much more politely.

The following was written by our 2023 Summer Intern Taylor Breeden.

Before the summer internship, I didn’t have a solid opinion on using graphic imagery to expose abortion. I had researched abortion and seen pictures, but I always felt icky at the thought of placing those images in the public square.

Now I do have a solid opinion: I very much dislike it. Let me explain.

CBR’s activism methods can be overwhelming. It’s difficult to feel like you’re doing good by showing something so horrible. I have found that nobody likes the abortion victim images; pro-lifers, pro-aborts, CBR employees, and passersby alike. Nobody feels completely comfortable with images of a dead baby – and they shouldn’t.

The whole point of our work is to expose the truth about abortion. And the truth is, it’s disgusting, so we should all be absolutely horrified when faced with it.

In A Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that “we… are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.” This statement completely changed my mind set on abortion graphics. Before, I thought it was just as disgusting to show the horror of abortion as it was to commit an abortion. I figured it only had a negative impact on the movement, making people turn away from the topic all together.

Once I read Dr. King’s words, I understood that we weren’t making people uncomfortable; abortion was.

After releasing the burden of guilt, CBR’s methods made perfect sense to me. I’ve even come to see it as a necessity in the pro-life movement. So, while I dislike showing graphic images of abortion victims to the public, I do it, because it must be done.

Caleb has been involved in pro-life work for about 4 years. Before he was saved, his girlfriend had an abortion. “Supporting her in that decision ruined my life,” says Caleb.

After experiencing the trauma of abortion firsthand, Caleb felt called to speak out. He believes that one of his biggest roles in the pro-life field is to speak with the fathers of potential abortion victims. Caleb explains to them that, contrary to what pro-aborts say, men DO have a voice and a place in the pro-life movement. He emphasizes that these men will be just as impacted as the mother in the aftermath of abortion.

Caleb’s pro-life work started with volunteering outside of an abortion clinic. He noticed that he and the other volunteers had a low success rate. By the time a mother and father were driving to the clinic, it was almost always too late. He knew he needed to do something more proactive where he could reach people before they’d made up their minds.

When he heard about CBR’s unique activism methods, it was exactly what Caleb had been praying for. As a veteran, he appreciates that CBR plans their activities and evaluates tactics based on what’s been proven effective. Caleb volunteered with CBR before joining the internship program to help him discern his place in the pro-life movement.

We are so blessed to have Caleb with us this summer. We know he has much to contribute to the cause for life.

Taylor is a 19-year-old Knoxville native. She is entering her senior year at the University of Tennessee, pursuing a degree in journalism and electronic media. Her long-term goals include having and homeschooling many children while working part-time in the pro-life movement.

Taylor is a devout Catholic. Even though she grew up in the Church, she didn’t hear much about abortion until she was 14. By the time she was 16, Taylor felt called to defending the unborn. Taylor’s core belief is that life is precious from fertilization to natural death and should therefore be protected legally and honored morally.

One of Taylor’s proudest accomplishments is the completion of her Stars and Stripes Award, the highest level award a girl can earn in American Heritage Girls (AHG). AHG is an organization devoted to “building women of integrity through service to God, family, community, and country.” To receive this award, Taylor planned, implemented, and lead a 100-hour service project for Tennessee Right to Life, improving their prayer garden next to Planned Parenthood. She added a sign, a new statue, a literature/prayer box, lighting for the walkway, and other sources of color to the garden.

After this internship, Taylor intends to volunteer (or work part-time) with CBR while she finishes school. She hopes to continue working in communications and education in the pro-life movement, using her degree to help make abortion illegal and unthinkable.

We are tickled that Taylor has joined us this summer and look forward to seeing all she accomplishes in the future!

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!

Our Summer Internship Program is well underway (actually it’s already half over!) but it’s been so jam-packed already, we’ve barely had time to introduce you to our 2022 Summer Interns! Here they are!

Bonnie is a sophomore at Roane State Community College, majoring in communications.  Born and raised in Clinton, Tennessee, she is the second of 11 children.  Her parents have homeschooled all of them.

Bonnie heard about CBR through an uncle who supports our work.  She has always been pro-life and wanted to do something about it. Painfully, she realized that just as German Christians had, through their silence, allowed Nazis to operate death camps, she too was allowing abortion through her silence.

She joined CBR because she believes abortion must be exposed in order to turn public opinion against it.  “CBR has a plan to win the fight against abortion, and I want to be part of it.”  Currently, Bonnie helps with our social media.  Check it out her awesome work!  Our handle on all platforms is @centerforbioethicalreform. 

Bonnie is also great in the field: “Doing GAP is surprisingly freeing.  I’ve gotten used to people yelling obscenities; that just makes me more bold and more determined.  It’s almost funny when someone is screaming and flipping us off.  I mentally respond, ‘Is that all you got?’  They can’t argue with the pictures.”

Noah is studying business administration at Columbus State University in Georgia.  He believes action is his moral obligation.

He first learned about CBR when we brought GAP to his campus in April.  For two days, he stood with CBR and debated pro-aborts. Within a week, he applied for the internship.

During his first outing with CBR, Noah found it generally amusing that pro-aborts think heckling will slow down the pro-life movement. 

Isaiah is a lover of Jesus, 4Runners, tacos, and quesadillas.  A returning intern from last year’s class, he has been studying life and working on a major in Jesus Christ.  Perhaps you are wondering, “How did someone like Isaiah get started in pro-life work?”  Never doubt the power of a pretty girl saying, “I’ll go next year if you do.”

This year Isaiah is setting out to do all things for Christ.  This has included cleaning bathrooms in a church, holding signs downtown, and witnessing to confused and calloused people.

One of his favorite Bible verses is Ezekiel 33:11: “Say to them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the Sovereign Lord, I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.  Turn!  Turn from your evil ways!  Why will you die, People of Israel?’”

Ilyssa is a rising college senior studying anthropology at Cleveland State University.  After the past few years of living on a very leftist campus and having no conservative community, she needed to find an internship that “brings me closer to God, surrounds me with sane people, and helps end the atrocity of abortion.”  CBR was the perfect opportunity! (OK, she’s beginning to wonder about that “sane people” part.)

Growing up as a Christian, she has always been pro-life. But at Cleveland State, Ilyssa encountered the dangerously unhinged views of the left.  She knew they were wrong, but she couldn’t articulate why.  “CBR is perfect because I get to learn how to defend the pro-life position, do research, partake in activism, and interact with real people.  I hope to take what I learn back to Cleveland State and apply it.”

Her first GAP was enlightening.  It was like watching those demonic pro-abortion Tik Toks, but in real life.  Ilyssa also found it crazy how many people simply avoided looking at the signs.  “Standing outside holding those signs felt amazing. I could’ve stayed out there longer because, finally, I was doing something concrete about my pro-life beliefs.”  Ilyssa is so glad that she is a part of CBR and she is excited for the rest of the summer!

Thank you for supporting CBR and these outstanding young people. You have made this all possible. Please pray that God will bring them back to us and also send many more.

Triniti Patterson

We are blessed again to have four outstanding young people joining us for our Summer Intern Program. Triniti Patterson, Rebekah Warren, Isaiah Abney, and Klayton Wasson come from all over the country and bring many different interests and talents to our merry band of pro-life missionaries here at CBR.

Triniti grew up in Southern California, and was aware of abortion as a child because her dad was a street preacher and activist.  However, it wasn’t until the New York Reproductive Healthcare Act was passed in January 2019 that she realized the extreme horror of abortion and decided to become active in the fight to end it.

Triniti is a rising junior at Cedarville University, studying political science and Biblical counseling. When asked what her most noteworthy experience of the internship has been so far, she said:

I really used to think that anyone could be persuaded by facts and logic, because we are created as logical beings.  But people who are being controlled by demons and dark spirits cannot be convinced of goodness by facts and logic alone.  Working for CBR has made that clear to me.

Rebekah Warren

In the future, Triniti hopes to continue working in the pro-life movement, potentially with CBR or as a crisis therapist.  We won’t beat around the bush: we hope she sticks with us!

Rebekah, a St. Louis native, also comes from a pro-life family.  In fact, her parents have supported CBR for many years and have obviously raised their children to be serious pro-life Christians.  Now a rising senior majoring in Accounting & Entrepreneurship at Baylor University, we have great hopes that she will bring her many talents to CBR and work with us to end legalized child-killing.

Interning with CBR was not even initially Rebekah’s plan for this summer.  She had applied last fall and then forgot about it and began pursuing accounting internships through Baylor.  When we contacted her to interview this winter, she had just been presented with a fantastic business internship offer.  After the interview, Rebekah says she was “both convicted and encouraged.”  She had to decide if she should take the “next right step” for her career, or spend the summer serving the Lord with CBR.  We are incredibly glad she chose CBR!

Isaiah Abney

We first met Isaiah last year at our Pro-Life Leadership Youth Camp in Columbus, Georgia.  Isaiah just graduated from high school, so we were both surprised and delighted that he wanted to spend his summer with us!  When we found out that he plans to join the military, we realized how serious and committed Isaiah is to the cause. “I wanted to do something tangible for God before I leave to the military, and He led me here, so I followed,” Isaiah reflected.

A driving force behind Isaiah’s pro-life convictions is his family.  He was raised in a very pro-life home in Georgia, but like many young kids, didn’t give it too much serious thought.  Then, his mother told him that she had had an abortion.  That made the bigger issue of abortion real and personal to Isaiah, and it inspired him to action.  We are blessed to have Isaiah with us this summer!

Klayton comes to us all the way from Oregon, where he was studying for his Associates degree and considering transferring to a Bible college.  Like the others, Klayton was raised pro-life, but only as he got older did he really begin to consider the gravity of abortion.  He was spurred to action when several friends and relatives got abortions, and he knew he had to do something.  Klayton explains:

I wanted professional training to learn how to stand up for the preborn and to learn how to do activism in the most effective way.  I came to CBR with the intention of making a difference saving lives back home.

Klayton Wasson

Klayton says that being outside an abortion clinic has been the most noteworthy experience of the internship so far.  It makes the otherwise abstract mothers and children a visual reality, and therefore harder to forget.

When asked what he plans to do after graduation, Klayton replied “Serve Jesus.”  Amen!  As to where he might serve, we have a place to recommend!

Thank you for supporting CBR and these outstanding young people.  Please pray that God will bring them back to us next year and also send many more.

Annie Whaley, our youngest 2020 Summer Intern, had been apprehensive about talking to strangers about abortion. Thanks to the training and mentoring she received, Annie was able to overcome that fear. She shared, “Doing [pro-life] activism is something I wanted to do, but I never really pictured myself doing it. But it pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me realize it’s not about me…it’s about sharing the truth.”

To hear more about Annie’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below.

We’re still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.

Already active in the pro-life movement, Britt Huddleston was a little skeptical that using abortion victim images would really make that much of a difference. Looking back, she said “I was definitely converted that first time we did activism…It got to the heart of the issue…You can’t deny the reality of abortion, that it’s killing a person, when you’re sitting there looking at it.”

To hear more about Britt’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below.

We’re still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.

Heidi Whaley had always been pro-life, but thought of abortion as a “distant problem” for which she had no personal responsibility. During CBR’s Summer Intern Program, Heidi’s view changed. “Through this experience, I’ve come to view abortion for what it really is: a bloody, ghastly war. I haven’t been asked to help fight in this war, I’ve been called by God.”

To hear more about Heidi’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below.

We’re still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.

When asked what she would say to fellow pro-life Christians, 2020 Intern Maggie Groover had this to say: “Why are you being silent? We know that this is going on. It’s not a secret. How can you ignore this any longer? It’s our responsibility to stand up.” 

To hear more about Maggie’s powerful experience as a CBR Intern, check out the video below. 

We are still accepting applications for our 2021 Internship, until February 28th! (The internship runs from May 17 to August 6 in Knoxville, Tennessee.) For more information and to submit an application, click here.

As our summer interns were leaving in August, another kind of internship was just beginning. CBR has partnered with Thrive Ministry Leadership Residency, an integrative, 10-month Christian ministry training program for college graduates who sense that God is calling them into pastoral or non-profit leadership. Thrive Residency partners with local church ministries and non-profits in the Knoxville area and each Thrive Resident works 30 hours per week at one of these partner organizations. CBR is now blessed by Kennedy Harless, our very own Thrive Resident intern, for ten whole months (half of which have already passed, if you can believe it)!

Kennedy grew up in Indiana in a conservative Southern Baptist family. However, Kennedy herself only truly became pro-life during her freshman year of college. She learned how abortions are performed and realized that abortion is never acceptable.

Kennedy graduated in 2020 from Cedarville University with a Bachelor of Arts in Christian Education and Youth Ministry, with the intent to pursue Ethics/Apologetics/urban ministry in the future. Her desire to be an agent of light and healing draws her to ministries that deal with “real people and tough situations.” She has already proven herself to be a winsome advocate for the lives of the preborn by engaging with students at Liberty & Lee during our campus visits this fall.

Kennedy’s primary responsibility at CBR is our 2021 Summer Intern Program. She has been working tirelessly to identify and recruit potential intern candidates and guide them through the application process. She has also lent her hand to some of our new social media design, for which she has a particular talent. It really helps to have young people around, so they can teach me how to do the SnapFace thing.

When asked why she wanted to intern with CBR, Kennedy had this to say:

I like being involved with ministries that are raw and CBR deals with the darkest part of human depravity. Willingness to correctly educate the general public on abortion brings the pivotal question of life and death to the forefront of our conversation. Accepting ignorance, particularly willful ignorance, keeps us enslaved to our practice of sacrificing others on the altar of self.

Welcome aboard, Kennedy! We are so grateful to have you!

CBR was blessed with four fabulous interns here in Knoxville this summer. From a taekwondo black belt, to an artist, they brought many skills to the table.

CBR 2020 Interns: Maggie, Britt, Heidi, & Annie

Sisters Annie and Heidi Whaley hail from East Tennessee, just like another one of CBR’s favorite people! Growing up in a strong Christian family, Heidi remembers her dad telling stories of martyrs for the faith, “I’ve always heard standing up for righteousness is hard, but after this summer, I know it firsthand. I’ve felt God’s presence this summer like never before. He has given me boldness in my insecurity, peace in my fear, and strength in my weakness.”

Maggie Groover also grew up pro-life. “It was never something I wrestled with, but it has grown in importance to me as I’ve grown closer to God.” Coming from a large family in North Carolina, Maggie decided college was not for her and instead entered the workforce after high school.

Unlike the other three, Britt Huddleston was pro-choice through most of high school. She eventually realized that “My body my choice” is an extremely intellectually dishonest argument, and that there is nothing scientific about calling a fetus “a clump of cells.” Britt says, “I literally had nothing to back that position other than selfishness.”

We asked our interns to learn and push themselves in many different areas, but street activism proved to be a highlight of the internship for them. Annie found activism outside Planned Parenthood to be particularly poignant. “As soon as we parked, the atmosphere weighed down on me. You can feel what a spiritually dark place it is. The experience revitalized my passion to speak and act on behalf of these unborn children who are brutally slaughtered.”

Interns & Staff outside Planned Parenthood in Charlotte.

Britt had done some pro-life activism at her college, Miami University, but never used abortion victim images. She now fully understands their key role in ending abortion, “Through this internship, I became comfortable with using abortion victim imagery and learned how to engage people with it. I’ve had more effective conversations in the past 12 weeks than I have in the past couple of years without it. Pro-lifers can’t be scared to use images if they care about ending abortion.”

Maggie also noted the impact abortion victim imagery had on her, saying that watching “Choice Blues” on the first day of the internship was the most noteworthy experience for her. “I had already seen the graphic pictures several times at that point, but that video motivated me to act in a way I had not before.” Maggie is proof of CBR’s belief that it is just as important for pro-life people to see abortion as it is for pro-choice people. It turns beliefs into actions.

Heidi and Annie have now returned to school at East Tennessee State University. Britt has returned to Miami University and Maggie to her full-time job as a nanny. Before the internship, all four of our interns were pro-life. They would never have considered abortion an acceptable solution to an unplanned pregnancy. However, they were not mobilized. CBR’s internship mobilized them. Both Annie and Britt plan to start pro-life clubs at their schools to host GAP, and all four of them are now considering working full-time to end abortion. As Annie said, “There is absolutely no way I can go home and act like none of this happened. I know the truth and, therefore, am responsible for sharing it.”

We are already accepting applications for our summer 2021 internship. Click here for more information and to submit an application.