Abortion Warning Label

You may have heard about the new regulations on tobacco packaging that have been promulgated by the US Department of Health & Human Services.  They are saying what we have said all along.  Pictures work!

Here are some points and counterpoints.  Please comment.

Frequency.  21% of Americans smoke.

• 43% of women have abortions.

Deaths.  Smoking and other tobacco use is the “number one cause of preventable death” in America, claiming more than 440,000 lives a year, according to HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius.

• Actually, abortion is the number one cause of preventable death in America, claiming more than 1.2 million lives every year.

Verbal warnings not effective.  HHS believes current verbal warning labels are not as effective as they need to be, because they are ignored.

• Debates and speeches will not end abortion, because they are ignored.

Knowledge.  “With these warnings, every person who picks up a pack of cigarettes is going to know exactly what risk they’re taking.” (HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius)

• When people see abortion photos, they will know exactly what they are doing.

Gross factor.  “They are [really gross].  We want kids to understand smoking is gross, not cool.” (HHS Sec. Kathleen Sebelius)

• We want kids to understand killing preborn children is gross, not cool.

Immunity.  People have become immune to the old labels and really didn’t see them anymore. (Thomas Glynn, American Cancer Soc.)

• People don’t think about abortion in any kind of analytical way. Even “pro-life” Christians have become complacent about abortion and really don’t pay any attention to it.

Reminder that smoking kills.  “For smokers, it’s a new and very visible reminder that smoking can harm them, harm people around them, including children.” (Thomas Glynn, American Cancer Soc.)

• For abortion-vulnerable parents, abortion images are a very visible reminder that abortion kills their children.

Images are for everyone.  “For nonsmokers, it’s a reminder that smokers need their help and concern as far as quitting. The labels are not just for smokers, the labels are for anyone interested in public health.” (Thomas Glynn, American Cancer Soc.)

• For people not personally at risk of abortion, graphic images are a reminder that women and families need their help in choosing life. The images aren’t just for mothers, the images are for everyone interested in any mother’s wellbeing and that of her children.

People responding.  The American Lung Association says that calls to their stop-smoking hotline have spiked since the publicity over the new images.

• The first time abortion images appeared at the University of Tennessee, 9 women chose life (that we know about).

Staring them in the face.  “For decades, Big Tobacco got away with slick marketing campaigns that fooled the public into thinking smoking was glamorous – and now we’re turning the tables on them. Each time a smoker reaches for a pack of cigarettes, the deadly truth will be staring them in the face.” (US Sen. Frank Lautenberg)

• For decades, Big Abortion got away with slick marketing campaigns that fooled the public into thinking that abortion was not a horrific act of violence, and now we’re turning the tables on them. Each time an abortion-vulnerable person sees one of our signs, the deadly truth will be staring them in the face.

Canadian high school student shakes hand of Operation School Choice Director Francisco Gomez.

High school children are having abortions.  Others on the fence.  Who will get to them first?  Will it be us?  Will they see the truth?  Or will it be that pro-abortion professor who will lie with impunity?

See what pro-lifers are doing about it in Canada.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5fqPgPFElkw

Pro Life on Campus at the University of Delaware

Here is the media coverage from our recent GAP excursion to Maryland and Delaware.

GAP at Johns Hopkins University

Johns Hopkins News-Letter

• Pro-life activists stage protest (4-page item)
• Freedom of speech and expression (2-page item)

True Blue Conservative

• Pro-life activists stage protest

GAP at the University of Delaware

• Abortion protest to return to The Green
• Group’s comparison of abortion, genocide draws ire
• Pushing one’s ideas will never initiate logical debate
• Abortion display is misleading

Shirley Moore models the sign she held at the Planned Parenthood Framing Choice event.

Chris Lefebvre was among the pro-life crowd that attended the Planned Parenthood fundraiser at Market Square on May 6.  Here’s her story.

Hope for the Future

Seven bright-eyed high school students stood in Market Square on a recent Friday night.  Some of them held colorful hand-made signs defending life; others held signs exposing death.  They came to stand with a small group of adults, including at least one post abortive woman.  Together they formed a solemn semi-circle facing the stage where Planned Parenthood was holding its youth photo fundraiser called Framing Choice: What Choice Means to Me.

This small group had made the decision that Planned Parenthood would be confronted wherever they tried to promote their deadly deceptions.  It wasn’t easy to devote a Friday night to standing vigil; some of the folks who passed by made hostile remarks and some gave us disgusted looks.  Many more stopped to inquire and some even thanked us for being there.  Some of the people who browsed the display told us afterward that they had no idea it was a Planned Parenthood event; there were no signs indicating the name of the organization and they were surprised to learn the name from us!

Many of us who were there on Friday night face these kinds of events with a certain degree of trepidation, but it never fails that, when all is said and done, we find abundant blessings in being willing to take a stand.  This event was no different; the questions we were able to answer, the truth that was told about life and death and the seeds planted by that truth will bear fruit in uncountable ways.  The most wonderful blessing of all was the presence of those seven courageous young people.  They give us great hope for the future.

Please pray that God will guard them and add to their number.  Pray also that Planned Parenthood will not go unchallenged whenever and wherever they try to promote their deadly work in our city.

GAP photo in the Eastern Progress

Check out the media coverage at Eastern Kentukcy and the Univesity of Kentucky.  You think they knew we were there?

The Eastern Progress at Eastern Kentucky University:

• Abortion murals met with mixed reactions
• Debate looks into legality of abortion
• Abortion debate is a stalemate

The Kentucky Kernel at the University of Kentucky:

• Abortion display fuels debate
• Letter: Signs present inaccurate information
• Abortion signs depict genocide, breast cancer in false light
• Letter: In response to ..
• Offending social justice with social justice
• GAP uses shock tactics to effectively achieve goal
• Letter from Daniel Sparks

Blue Coast Live:

• CBR brings graphic pictures to UK campus
• Planned Parenthood support group VOX combats graphic display at UK

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.

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.

Debbie Picarello and Sandie Sendall speak with UK students about their abortion experiences.

We are so thankful for ministry partners like Deeper Still, an outreach to post-abortive women (and soon post-abortive men as well).  Two of their volunteers, Debbie Picarello and Sandie Sendall, both post-abortive themselves, joined us for GAP at the University of Kentucky.  Debbie shares her experience:

Visiting the University of Kentucky was a wonderful experience.  Sandie Sendall, a friend and past Deeper Still participant, helped man the post-abortion healing table.  Both Sandie and I have experienced the negative consequences of having the “choice” to have an abortion.  We came to offer not only our personal experiences with abortion, but also to offer the hope, healing, restoration, and reconciliation only Jesus can offer.

The Deeper Still table, stationed in between the Planned Parenthood table and the GAP display, gave us plenty of opportunities to speak with college students and older adults.  There were two signs on our table.  One said, “I’ve had an abortion. You can ask me anything.”  The other declared “Freeing the abortion wounded heart…Deeper Still.”

Many students stopped by just wanting to know what Deeper Still was, both pro-lifers and pro-choicers alike.  I had numerous opportunities to share that abortion comes with a very high price tag, a price to be paid for many years to come after the procedure that was supposed to help me “get on with my life”.

This table became a place to come and share personal pain.  One male student’s girlfriend aborted their baby a year ago and he was hurting very badly.  We gave him local info for Rachel’s Vineyard which offers ministry for men.  Deeper Still has the vision to offer free healing retreats for men wounded by abortion, yet currently only offers ministry for women.

Another young woman had been raped and was looking for help.  We referred her to Jane, a GAP volunteer who also worked at one of the crisis pregnancy centers in Lexington.  Jane and Sandy were able to pray with her and exchange contact info.

Another young male college student told us how he was almost the victim of abortion, due to his problematic conception.  He was exceptionally glad that we were all out there standing for life.  Many pro-life students said they were so glad we were there.  We had the opportunity to speak with and challenge protesting medical students, as well as several of the Planned Parenthood students.

We were only 2 of the several post abortive women who volunteered to help with GAP at UK.  I am convinced that having post abortive women and men at these GAP’s strengthens the impact it has.  There is power in personal testimony that could not be refuted.  We left the students with a lot to think about.

GAP turns heads at the University of Kentucky.

We always love our time at the University of Kentucky.  It is a very diverse student body, with many students representing every position on abortion.  Students are generally respectful and willing to listen.

Our free speech board was a huge draw, as was our poll table.  I don’t have exact numbers, but the list of students who identified themselves as pro-life was several pages long.

Media coverage already!

Debbie Picarello represents the healing ministry of Deeper Still at EKU

GAP was a huge success on Day 2 at Eastern Kentucky University (EKU).  The weather was great, although cold, and we had a steady stream of visitors.  I think twenty or so people signed up for the student pro-life group.

Media Coverage:

• Story in The Eastern Progress.  Check out the photos!

Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) at Eastern Kentucky University

We put up our Genocide Awareness Project at Eastern Kentucky University today.  With rain and 30-mph winds in the forecast, we constructed the display in a perfect location, sheltered from the rain and the worst of the wind.  We managed to get the display taken down and loaded up on the truck before the heavy rains came.

The pro-aborts had promised to demonstrate, but only one showed up.  Bummer.

Supervolunteers Gary Johnson and Larry Goad drove the RCC truck around campus.

RCC truck driving through the EKU campus.

Photos reveals what each cross really means.

Check out the Crosses for the Unborn display at Eastern Kentucky University.  Photos on each cross represent what each abortion really is … an act of violence that destroys a  human being.

Without the photo, many passersby will reflexively conclude that each cross means that another woman has made a reproductive choice … no big deal.  By challenging that conclusion, the photo gives the crosses real meaning.

Elijah House of the EKU Students for Life wrote to FAB about the impact of the crosses:

There was a young woman who came up to us while we were setting up yesterday and she stopped and thanked us for what we were doing.  She proceeded to tell us that she had lost two nieces and nephew to abortion. 

There was also a young man who stopped and he wasn’t aware that there was a pro life group on campus.  He had gone to a Right to Life conference recently and was excited to get involved with pro life work on campus.

Unfortunately, last night someone pulled up all the crosses, broke several, and tore off most of the cards.  One of my roommates put the crosses back up.  It’s unfortunate to see how others vandalize First Amendment rights.

Unfortunate, perhaps, but it shows that people are conflicted about abortion.  People still have a functioning conscience.

We’re scheduled to be at Eastern Kentucky with GAP next week!  Please pray for our time on campus, as well as this time of preparation.

Crosses at Eastern Kentucky University feature an abortion photo on each cross.