Got a call from Michael Homula yesterday.  He wanted me (and you) to know about their mobile pro-life ultrasound ministry.

Please comment:  Where would you take this ultrasound bus?  OK, the mall, but where else?  People going to a clinic usually have already made up their minds.  What about places where lots of newly pregnant young people are likely to be struggling with the decision to abort?  Where do you suggest?

ICU Mobile – The Pioneer and Leader of Mobile Ultrasound Ministry

Globally, one in five pregnancies will end in an induced abortion.

One ministry plans to GO change that.

ICU Mobile (pronounced I See You), the pioneer and leader of mobile ultrasound ministry, is a non-profit ministry sharing love, grace and truth to serve women all over the world. Founded in Akron, Ohio in 2003, the ICU Mobile mission is simple: reveal life at the crossroads of decision. The approach is equally simple: reveal truth via ultrasound at a time when a woman is in the decision making process. They provide women experiencing an unplanned pregnancy the free opportunity to confirm that pregnancy via a limited obstetrical ultrasound and see her unborn child in order to make an informed life-affirming decision and hear the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. As part of their core values, ICU Mobile delivers this free service without judgment, hate, coercion or politics.

The ICU Mobile fleet, currently at 15 across the country and growing rapidly, is made up of passionate and dedicated people brought together by a common goal to serve women in the name of Christ. As the very first mobile ultrasound ministry, more than 8 years of experience has refined their approach and defined a series of best practices to reach out to women who are confused, scared and unsure with love, grace and a message of hope. Revealing life, life knit together in the womb and eternal life through Jesus, they see hearts and minds change every day. Sure, the free ultrasound draws women to an ICU Mobile, but it’s the love and compassion while revealing life that gives women hope for a better future.

But the why behind ICU Mobile will always be Jesus Christ…God. Because of the unfair trade Christ made for us, our sin for his righteousness, ICU Mobile follows His command to GO (Matthew 28:19a).

GO to abortion-minded women. GO save the unborn. GO make disciples of all nations.

ICU Mobile Effectiveness

Since 2003, the Lord has used the ICU Mobile fleet to serve thousands of women, save thousands of babies and bring thousands to faith in Jesus Christ. In 2010 alone, 87% of women who were considering or planning to have an abortion chose life in the fleet of ICU Mobile. Of the people who heard the Gospel and were invited to follow Christ, 43% made a decision to commit their lives to Jesus as Lord and Saviour.

Go(ing) Mobile

ICU Mobile makes affiliation with their ministry simple, easy to access and provides a turnkey ready to deploy mobile solution for qualified pregnancy centers and ministries. As a non-profit ministry, the only goal is to deploy more mobiles to the mission so they have developed an affiliate plan that actually enables the deployment of the next mobile in the fleet. It is self-replicating.

While it may seem intuitive to park the mobile in front of abortion clinics, and ICU Mobile certainly does that, they have come to know it is better to be involved in the decision making process rather than trying to reverse a decision at the last minute. ICU Mobile credits their effectiveness to God and the fact they GO to where women are, where those who are likely to experience an unplanned pregnancy typically hang out. Leveraging their experience, research and neutral brand, they carefully place themselves where they can have the most effect on the decisions women make.

If you are a pregnancy center who would like to learn more about why mobile ultrasound ministry with ICU Mobile makes sense go to the Go Mobile page on their website.

If you would like to get involved with ICU Mobile please visit the Get Involved page.

To learn more general information about the pioneer and leader of mobile ultrasound ministry please visit http://www.icumobile.org/ or email info@icumobile.org.

Leslie Sneddon of CBR Maine (left) was a key part of our team.

We were pleased to work with CBR Maryland to bring GAP to the Baltimore Inner Harbor earlier in May.  We know of one baby saved.  Here’s the story, from Leslie Sneddon of CBR Maine!

Please comment: Other than a college campus and a downtown harbor, where do you suggest we take the GAP project?  Please comment!

Baby Saved at the Baltimore Inner Harbor

I watched as she avoided the display, choosing to walk as far away as possible from the picture.  But the Lord directed her steps and now she was face to face with the signs.  I approached and asked her impression of the pictures. 

“Oh God, that is disgusting,” she declared.  “Is that an abortion?”  We moved slowly down to the sign entitled “Things you can do with an unplanned baby.”  This panel features a baby saved the first time GAP was done at the University of Tennessee.

“This baby pictured in the middle was saved from abortion because the mother decided against abortion after seeing these pictures.  She gave the baby up for adoption,” I explained. 

“I don’t think I could do that … give it up for adoption, that is.” she said.  “I mean, if I could see my baby, I would want to keep and really love it.   That’s for sure, but I can’t afford to take care of it.  I have no job, no money.”

“Are you pregnant right now?” I asked. 

“Yes.”

“Lord make me an instrument of Your Peace.”  That’s all I could think at that moment.  I spoke of my own abortions and about the hurt that never goes away.  I told her about the joy and the challenges that come with children.  I called for reinforcements.  Kurt Linnemann (CBR Maryland) and Jane Bullington (CBR Southeast) joined us.  For the next 30 minutes, the battle raged for 2 souls, mother and child.   “Michelle” was put in touch with a pregnancy resource center in her area and left with the assurance that the Lord hears our plea when we cry out to Him in our need. 

If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays, he leaves the ninety-nine in the hills and goes to look for the one that has strayed, doesn’t he?  Yes he does, and I thank the Lord that He let us take part in this rescue mission.

I got this from Michael Silva of Imagi-Motive in Magnolia, Texas. And you thought only Disney had imagineers!

A Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Center

Society is ever-changing. What worked yesterday may not work today, especially when it involves ministry. Of course the message, the truth, remains the same, but the vehicle that we use to deliver the truth often needs a fresh face.

Imagi-Motive is a family-owned company that has a reputation for being innovative in the vehicles they design for extreme tailgaters or companies looking for a mobile marketing solution. However, the Mims family also has a heart for the unborn, and they have put their talents to work in the battle to save lives.

As you may know, Houston, Texas, unfortunately, houses the largest Planned Parenthood facility in the world. However, what may be news to you is how the Houston Coalition for Life is impacting Planned Parenthood‘s efforts. How are they making a difference? With a Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Vehicle!

In mid-January of this year, Imagi-Motive completed the mobile crisis unit, and the Houston Coalition for Life increased their presence in the community. They began seeing dramatic results right away. Within the first twenty-two outings, nearly seventy women had been ministered to, counseled, and given pregnancy tests. And, those who were contemplating an abortion were provided the opportunity to have an ultrasound. Most importantly, the lives of seven babies, who were already scheduled for abortion, were saved. Seven!

But, that is not all. One lady, scared for many reason and struggling with her decision to abort, got up from the abortion table, went back outside to the Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Vehicle, and chose life! All I can say is thank God for this ministry tool!

Imagi-Motive is on a mission to let every crisis pregnancy center in America know about these units and how they help save lives.

In Matthew 28:16-20, we are given The Great Commission by Christ. He instruct us to go—that’s right, go—and make disciples. There are many ways to impact the communities in which we live, and the Mobile Crisis Pregnancy Vehicle helps us achieve this directive.

Praise the Lord for lives saved!

For more information on this ministry tool, contact us at msilva@imagimotive.com.

Michael Silva
Imagi-Motive LLC
Magnolia, Texas

Debbie Picarello and Sandie Sendall staff the Deeper Still post-abortion healing table at the University of Delaware. We noted a lot of men visiting them. They were able to share the Gospel with one!

Last week, we had an awesome two days on campus at the University of Delaware (UDel).  We were hosted by the Pro-Life Vanguard, the student pro-life group at UDel.

This was our third trip to UDel.  We first went there in September 2003, and returned a year ago.  The students want us to return every year from now on.  Please comment: Should we return every year or every semester?

We were pleased to be working with Kurt and Samantha Linnemann of our new CBR Maryland outpost.  One of the most important aspects of our work is to help others do effective pro-life projects all over the country, and the Mid-Atlantic region is a critical one.  We look forward to a long and productive partnership.  Maybe not so long; we will work to make the killing stop sooner rather than later.

Pro Life activists in Knoxville display Choice signs (at left) and a banner announcing the PP fundraiser.

My trip to Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware continues. More on that later. Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Shirley Moore and others took a number of CBR “Choice” signs to a Planned Parenthood fundraiser (PP) at Market Square in downtown Knoxville. Here’s her account:

Framing Choice: What Choice Means to the Victim

Planned Parenthood held their annual FYI Peer-to-Peer fundraiser at Market Square in Knoxville on Friday, May 6. This was held right in the middle of the May edition of Knoxville’s summer monthly First Friday celebrations. The Peers are students trained through 40 hours of exposure to Planned Parenthood ideology and advocacy coaching. They are required to make “100 informal educational contacts with their peers.” These newly designated “sex-perts” promote Planned Parenthood in schools, churches, and anywhere else teens gather. Here is Planned Parenthood’s announcement of the May 6 event:

Framing Choice: What Choice Means to Me

For three years, the teens of FYI have exhibited photography that explores choices in life – a road, a friend, a frame of mind, etc. The framed photos are always thought-provoking. With depth and beauty these Knoxville area teens explain what choice means to them and you have the opportunity to share in that experience. This exhibit promises to challenge and inspire you. In order to make the event a success, we need your help.

There you have it; they needed our help to make the event a success! You don’t have to ask twice! So a few of us borrowed CBR’s “challenging” and “thought-provoking” photographs to set up a display of our own.

Arriving early with the signs, I saw a large man in the PP party eye me suspiciously, even though the pictures were turned face-in, leaning against a tree, and not visible … not yet, anyway. Several of us gathered and waited for the young people to arrive. When those brave young souls entered the Square, we picked up our signs and walked toward the stage. We hoped to inspire a few people to reconsider what “choice” really means, so we held signs that said “Celebrating Choice Means Celebrating This” above the graphic photos of aborted babies.

A dozen of us stood in a semi-circle facing the stage, surrounded on both sides of the Square by diners enjoying a First Friday meal at the many restaurants. Since we were toward the front of the Square and not facing them, the diners appeared to pay little heed. Two of our party stood with their backs to the stage holding a long banner, announcing to those entering the Square from the opposite direction, “Planned Parenthood: the Largest Abortion Provider in the USA.” I think PP should be glad we were there to announce it was a PP event, for they had no signage of their own. No banner proudly heralding their name, no bold identifier … just a humble grey tri-fold display board with the PP logo at the bottom. A few people wandered through the exhibit, never realizing it was a PP event. Why so shy? How popular is that brand, anyway?

Perhaps the large man on stage called the police, because a policeman arrived and stood next to the stage most of the time. Which suited me fine, because some people walking by made comments of the hostile “hit and run” variety. But others were supportive and not afraid to come up and talk. One man said, “I’m against it too, but you shouldn’t be showing those.” And there he was, holding a professional camera with an impressive lens on it, lecturing me about censoring imagery. I thought, “If you’re against it, why not use that lens to stop it?”

A young man on a bicycle whizzed by tossing off a hit-and-pedal remark: “Mind your own business.” But as Jacob Marley’s ghost (A Christmas Carol by Dickens) says,

 “Business!” cried the Ghost, wringing its hands again. “Mankind was my business. The common welfare was my business; charity, mercy, forbearance, and benevolence, were, all, my business. The dealings of my trade were but a drop of water in the comprehensive ocean of my business!”

A professorial woman critiqued our images and explained facts about fetal development to a companion, never meeting our eyes or acknowledging our presence. Invisible as the unborn, I guess.

But the most boisterous reaction was from a musical band of blasphemy singers who took up positions in front of us and played loudly, mocking religion and believers in general, best I could tell. This song of mockery greatly heartened the PP personnel on stage and they came to the edge of the steps, beaming approval.

All in all, I hope PP appreciated our taking the opportunity to “share in that experience.” Anytime they need a banner to herald their name, we’ll be glad to bring one.

The masts of the USS Constellation rise above the GAP signs.

Wednesday, we set up GAP and drove our RCC truth truck at the Baltimore Inner Harbor.

Urban GAP is normally much quieter than campus GAP, but very much worth doing, especially in the summer when people love to walk around.  I hope we will come back after the tourists arrive.

We know of one baby saved.  More on that later.

A crowd gathers in front of GAP and CBR "Choice" signs at Johns Hopkins University.

On Tuesday, CBR brought the Genocide Awareness Project to Johns Hopkins University (JHU).  This is a private school, and we had no student sponsorship, so we actually set up our display in a grass strip at the front entrance.

About mid-day, a handful of pro-abortion students showed up to provide a stark contrast between reasoned debate and juvenile buffoonery.  Fortunately, we were able to bring the truth about abortion to a steady stream of students entering the JHU front gate.

PLTA facilitator Fletcher Armstrong---hey, that's me!---helps students answer the hard questions.

The Pro Life Training Academy (PLTA) has inspired and equipped yet another group of pro-life students and activists, this time at the University of Delaware.  PLTA students of all ages learned how to articulate and respectfully defend the pro-life position.

To bring the PLTA to your city, click here and let us know!

Jay Watts of the Life Training Institute is our featured speaker.

We’re doing the Pro Life Training Adademy in Baltimore today. Each student will learn how to articulate and respectfully defend the pro-life position. We’d love to bring the Academy to your town!

Tomorrow, it’s on to the University of Delaware!

Shirley Moore

My name is Shirley Moore and I am a recovering dupe, a victim of deception. Are you one too? I pretended for a hopeful moment that Planned Parenthood (PP) was out of the schools when they were removed from the approved speakers’ list on February 25, 2011.

But parents ought to know they have been covertly embedded for years in the education profession through teachers’ associations, PTA and the family life curriculum. They often play the role of “curriculum guidelines” policeman to maneuver their programs into the schools. It seems to have worked three years ago when they won approval from the Knox County Schools (KCS) to present their marketing pitch to the captive KCS audience.

The fly in the school reformers’ ointment was that they tore the cover off PP by putting them on the approved speakers’ list in 2008. It must have seemed the PP brand was acceptable now as it had never been before (even to Dumb Tennesseans, as one Knoxville News Sentinel letter writer recently called us). But was it really? A fracas ensued in the school administration building when parents discovered their presence in the schools in the fall of 2010.

The questions they raised about their fitness to be there showed it still isn’t a reputable brand. (And even Planned Parenthood supporters get squeamish when their association with them is made too public. That’s why the Life Decisions International Boycott list works…given time and persistent boycott participants.)

By removing all outside groups in the area of sex education, the Superintendent has undercut any abstinence presentations. Since no outside groups are presenting overtly, there will be no apparent need to “opt out.” But “opt out” was always a toothless maneuver as Planned Parenthood’s material and worldview can be woven into as many subjects as possible throughout the school day.

A Planned Parenthood trained teacher can serve it up in subtle ways. It’s called “comprehensive sex education.” Be aware: the hidden hand of Planned Parenthood remains in the KCS schools via teacher training seminars. The Superintendent admitted as much in the WATE-TV interview after the April 6 School Board meeting. It was a “yeah but, no but, yeah but” bumbling statement, but it’s there.

But what does our School Board think? We don’t know. They fired themselves from their jobs in 2008 by signing an agreement with the Superintendent promising not to dissent in public. Odd way to go about Racing to the Top. The top of what? The heap? But what’s in that heap? A heap of parents, the community, and our local democracy, for starters. Evidently, we can’t discuss it in public and that should tell us all we need to know about the secrecy and arrogance operating in this matter.

Shirley Moore
Knoxville, Tennessee

Last chance for Summer Internships.  Click here and call Fletcher at 865-776-1312.

Want to win hearts, change minds, and save lives?  Of course you do!  That’s why you are doing pro-life work in the first place!  So please call now!

One of the most curious things said at the debate was Dr. McLean’s charge that pro-lifers are responsible for a network of “fake clinics.”  Dr. Mclean struck me as a fair-minded person, so I have to attribute this charge to spending too much time on uber-left websites in the hours leading up to our debate, because this charge clearly originates from radically pro-abortion groups who are committed to only one choice for women, and that’s abortion.  There is perhaps no charge that is more comcially hypocritical this that one.

I responded that when we are on campus, people routinely demand to know what we are doing to help women in crisis pregnancies.  I tell them we do quite a lot.  Pro-lifers run a network of centers where women and families can go to receive guidance, resources, referrals to doctors who will treat them for free, referrals to housing, etc.  In fact, pro-lifers spend many, many times more money on these activities than on educational projects like we do at CBR.  So, in response to all of this, we are to be condemned for running a network of “fake” clinics?  If that’s the game, we can’t win, because were damned if we do and damned if we don’t.

Secular ProLife and Students for Life of America have published a flier, Fake Clinics: Myth vs Fact, to respond to this charge.  Some of the text:

Claim: CPCs are “fake clinics.”

Pregnancy centers come in two types. The first is a traditional crisis pregnancy center or pregnancy resource center. They are not clinics and do not pretend to be, although in most states they are able to offer pregnancy tests and prenatal vitamins. They provide numerous social services, including parenting classes, options counseling, baby supplies, and other financial aid. The second type is a Pregnancy Help Medical Clinic. These are licensed clinics working under the direction of an M.D. Medical services provided vary from clinic to clinic, but often include ultrasounds, on-site prenatal exams, and/or STD testing. In neither case can these be considered “fake clinics.”

Claim: CPCs only care about preventing abortions.

CPCs serve a variety of women; not only the abortion-minded, but also women who have chosen adoption or parenting parenting, women whose babies have already been born, and women struggling with a prior abortion.

Claim: CPCs use volunteers, who are unqualified.

CPCs do utilize volunteers– and so does Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider and one source of this claim! All CPC volunteers undergo training to ensure that they are qualified.

Claim: CPCs have religious affiliations.

Some do and some don’t. Many respectable non-profits have religious affiliations. People who make this claim are usually implying something further: religious discrimination. This is patently false. No CPC will refuse a client on the basis of her religion.

Continuing the coverage of my debate at Eastern Kentucky University.  Part 3 was here.

As you might imagine, Dr. McLean was big on “choice.” I said in my opening remarks that I was as pro-choice than just about anybody in the room. I believe that every woman and every man should be free to choice her own health care provider, her own school, her own religion, her own career, etc.

What I didn’t say (but should have) is that unlike many on the political left, I even believe people should decide whether or not they will join a union and whether or not they will have money taken out of their paychecks to support union-backed political candidates.

But some choices are wrong, even immoral, like killing innocent human beings simply because they are in the way and cannot defend themselves.

She also objected to being called “pro-abortion” instead of “pro-choice.”  I admitted that I often use the more pejorative term, but it can certainly be justified.  Stephen Douglas was said to be personally opposed to slavery, but he argued that the states should have to “right to choose” whether to be free states or slave states.  We always refer to him as “pro-slavery,” not “pro-choice.”

Following our prepared remarks, we took questions. Lots of questions. At the scheduled ending, the moderator asked if we would be willing to stay longer. I asked when the Cracker Barrel closed. We ended up staying for an extra hour.

One student asked how many churches support our “hate-filled message.” His question was laden with additional pejoratives, but I can’t recall  his exact words. I had to restrain my laughter, because if the Christian church in America—I’m talking about the self-proclaimed “pro-life” church—had ever taken abortion seriously, this would have been over long ago.

People frequently ask about my religious views, as if abortion were a religious issue. I pointed out that although my religion demands that I care about others, you don’t have to share my Christian beliefs to know killing people is wrong. We’re not asking people to accept a new system of morality; we just want them to apply their own system of morality to all human beings.

More in Part 5

In her opening remarks, Dr. McLean asserted that the fetus is not a human. She made several other assertions and arguments that I rebutted, but this was the most glaring error of the debate. As Daniel Patrick Moynihan once said, “Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.”

My introductory comments were posted yesterday. In them, I challenged Dr. McLean to prove her assertion that the fetus was not human. I would accept almost all of her points. I would agree that abortion should be legal, that abortion should be covered by insurance, that I would even quit my job and find another career. I would do all of this, if and only if she could present conclusive scientific and/or philosophic evidence to show that the preborn child is not human. As you may be aware, no such evidence exists.

To rebut the myth that the unborn child is not human (or that life doesn’t begin at conception), I quoted both medical textbooks and pro-abortion sources:

Zygote. This cell results from the union of an oocyte and a sperm during fertilization. A zygote is the beginning of a new human being (i.e., an embryo). … [The zygote] marked the beginning of each of us as a unique individual. (Keith L. Moore and T.V.N. Persaud, The Developing Human: Clinically Oriented Embryology, 7th ed., Philadelphia: Saunders, 2003, pp 2,16)

It is the penetration of the ovum by a spermatozoan and resultant mingling of the nuclear material … that constitutes the culmination of the process of fertilization and marks the initiation of the life of a new individual. (Bradley M. Patten, Human Embryology, 3rd ed., New York: McGraw Hill, 1968, p 43)

We of today know that man is born of sexual union; that he starts life as an embryo within the body of the female; and that the embryo is formed from the fusion of two single cells, the ovum and the sperm. This all seems so simple and evident to us that it is difficult to picture a time when it was not part of the common knowledge. (Alan F. Guttmacher. Life in the Making: The Story of Human Procreation. New York: Viking Press, 1933. p 3.) [Alan Guttmacher is a former president of Planned Parenthood.]

Perhaps the most straightforward relation between you and me on the one hand and every human fetus from conception onward on the other is this: All are living members of the same species, homo sapiens. A human fetus, after all, is simply a human being at a very early stage in his or her development. (David Boonin, A Defense of Abortion, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2002, p 20)

In the top drawer of my desk, I keep [a picture of my son]. This picture was taken on September 7, 1993, 24 weeks before he was born. The sonogram image is murky, but it reveals clear enough a small head tilted back slightly, and an arm raised up and bent, with the hand pointing back toward the face and the thumb extended out toward the mouth. There is no doubt in my mind that this picture, too, shows [my son] at a very early stage in his physical development. And there is no question that the position I defend in this book entails that it would have been morally permissible to end his life at this point. (David Boonin, A Defense of Abortion, New York: Cambridge University Press, 2003, p xiv)

Case closed, but if you want more proof, check out this article: When does life begin?

More coverage to follow in Part 4.

More on my debate at EKU.  See Part 1 here.

These are my opening remarks, sort of. In the interest of continuous improvement, I’m revising them as I go. But this is mostly what I said.

Opening Statement

Thank you for coming to participate in this debate.

I’m going to take it for granted that all of us here tonight want to live justly with respect to our fellow man. We disagree about who constitutes our fellow man and who does not.

I want to caution you not to believe anything I tell you. I’m an advocate, and so is my opponent in this debate. You can’t know if either of us is telling the truth or not, unless you check it out for yourself. You can’t know if I’ve left out important facts. My conclusions might be flawed. Even if I have plausible arguments, perhaps my opponent has decisive ones. You must do your own research and ask hard questions of both sides.

In America today, preborn humans have the right to life if and only if their mothers want them. This is true through all 9 months of pregnancy. That’s the status quo. And I’m willing to support it. I’m willing to concede that Dr. McLean is entirely correct in almost everything she will say. I’m willing to say there should be no restrictions on abortion. It should be treated just like any other medical procedure. I’m willing to say that abortion is certainly nothing like genocide. I’m willing to concede all of this, quit my job at CBR, and go into another line of work. I’ll do all of that … if. I’ll do all of that if and only if Dr. McLean can present good scientific and philosophic evidence to show that the preborn child is not human. I look forward to hearing that evidence.

The difference between us is not that she is pro-choice and I am anti-choice. I am vigorously pro-choice, as much as any person here, and probably more than most. I believe that every woman (and every man) should be free to choice her own health care provider, her own school, her own religion, her own career, etc.

Unlike many on the political left, I believe people should have the right to choose whether or not they join a union. They should not be forced to pay dues that will be diverted to political campaigns. Washington leftists disagree. I believe doctors and nurses should be free to choose whether they will perform abortions, according to the dictates of their own consciences. Washington leftists say no. I believe people should choose the charitable causes they wish to support, rather than the government choosing for them. Leftists even demand to decide what light bulb you buy, whether you can use a voucher to send your child to the school of your choice, and whether you buy health insurance under ObamaCare.

Yes, we are all pro-choice about some things, but nobody here is pro-choice about everything. Most choices are really matters of personal morality. Even though I may disagree with your choices, I have to respect your right to make them and vice versa. It’s your life. But some choices can be harmful, even deadly, to others. We don’t allow anyone the right to kill another human being simply because she is in the way and cannot defend herself. We don’t allow people to commit rape or child abuse. In a civilized society, no person has the right to unjustly take the life of another.

To put it simple, if the preborn child is not a human being, then no justification for abortion is needed. But if the preborn child is a human being, then no justification for abortion is adequate (except when the mother’s life is in danger).

To open our discussion about abortion, we need to define what it is. And to know what abortion is and does, we need to see it. I’m alerting you up front that some of you will not want to watch the video I’m about to show.  Feel free to close your eyes or look away from the screen.

Some may object to images of abortion because they somehow substitute emotion for reason, but that really misses the point. The question is not whether the pictures are emotional—they are—but whether the pictures are true. If the pictures are true, then they must be admitted as evidence.

Naomi Wolf is a pro-choice author who agrees with us on that point. She wrote,

How can we charge that it is vile and repulsive for pro-lifers to brandish vile and repulsive images if the images are real? To insist that the truth is in poor taste is the very height of hypocrisy. Besides, if these images are often the facts of the matter, and if we then claim that it is offensive for pro-choice women to be confronted by them, then we are making the judgment that women are too inherently weak to face a truth about which they have to make a grave decision. This view of women is unworthy of feminism. (Naomi Wolf, “Our Bodies, Our Souls,” The New Republic, October 16, 1995, p 32)

But Ms. Wolf is a bit off target.  With the pictures, our intended audience is not just women, but both women and men, because everybody needs to know.  The Elliot Institute says that as many as 64% of abortions are coerced, and it doesn’t take a genius to know who is doing the coercing.  Men need to know that irresponsibility comes with a heavy price that others will often have to pay.

I’ll show the video now.

[I then showed the Choice Blues video.]

I yeild back the rest of my time.

End of Opening Statement

In Part 3, I’ll describe the unanswered challenge.