Truth truck redefined | pro-life pictures on display

Here’s an idea from our Florida Operations.  It only takes a few minutes to convert an old VW van to a life saving education project, suitable for any outdoor pro-life event.  Or even a drive down the road!  Mike Schrimsher tells us how to do it:

We used 3 “S” hooks (like are used at each end of a bungie cord) to hang the signs from the rain gutter on each side of the van and removed the center aluminum post from each sign because it created an awkward pivot point. Other than the 6 hooks at the top, there were only 4 points of contact with the van, the 2 side posts on each sign and we used foam pipe insulation as a cushion to prevent scratches from rubbing at those spots. We could have also used rubber-coated hooks to cushion the contact points in the rain gutters. Maybe next time. We completed the process with one long bungie cord stretched under the van and attached to the center of both bottom sign rails and 4 short bungie cords were used to attach each bottom sign corner to the underside of the van. The sign did not begin to budge at all, even at 45-50 mph.
The best part was it only took about 5 minutes to assemble and take down the whole contraption and everything fits inside the vehicle. It’s like the VW van and 4×8 GAP signs were made for each other.

Check out this video of a TV news report about our Canadian CBR pro-life colleagues.  They are in Lethbridge, Alberta.  The TV report actually shows the abortion pictures very clearly in this report.

More and more, we are seeing post-abortive women who embrace the use of abortion pictures to encourage others not to abort.  Such was the message from McKenzie Haun in this story.

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFiGPbHvPLA

Billboard challenge to church pastors.

There have been a number of pro-life billboards pop up in Knoxville over the past couple of months.  This is my favorite.  It’s at the junction of I-40 and I-640 (west end), visible from eastbound I-40.

It is clear to us at CBR that the church has ample resources to stop abortion.  Yet you’d be hardpressed to find more than one or two churches in Knoxville that initiate any pro-life activity.

Every year, “pro-life” churches in the Knoxville area spend multiple millions of dollars to improve the production value of our music on Sunday morning.  These same churches spend only a few thousand dollars to stop abortion, barely enough to salve the conscience.  We spend thousands of paid staff hours organizing hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours on elaborate music programming, but we spend almost zero staff hours organizing almost nothing to stop the killing.

I’ve searched the scriptures diligently, and I find no instance where God chastened His people because their music wasn’t good enough.  Yet God judged His own chosen people (Israel) because they were killing their own children:

[Because the inhabitants of Jerusalem have worshiped false Gods and burned their children in the fire as offerings to Baal] … I will make them fall by the sword before their enemies … and I will give their carcasses as food to the birds of the air and the beasts of the earth. … I will make them eat the flesh of their sons and daughters [in the siege].  (Jeremiah 19: 4-9)

Even as 1 in 5 women who aborts her pregnancy identifies herself as an “evangelical” or “born-again” Christian (which means 1 in 5 men are also aborting their children), the church does little or nothing to stop the killing, even among their own members.  If you want to stop the killing in your own church, check this out.  Or this.

You probably haven’t heard of Andrea Bocelli.  He plays piano and sings.  Apparently, he’s right popular in some parts of the world.  Probably not on the Opry.  Anyhow, his mom was advised to abort him many years ago.  They said he would be disabled.  He tells his story below and sings a bit.

Course, he ain’t no Ronnie Milsap, but he plays pretty good.  He ain’t from round here neither, and I can’t understand a word he says, so I asked my buddy Capt. James T. Kirk to bring his universal translator over to the house.  (You know, the one that makes Klingons and Romulans sound like they grew up in Kansas.)  Anyhow, the audio was broke, so all we got were subtitles.  Enjoy!

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6QfKCGTfn3o

Gary Johnson and the photos that saved Suzanne's baby.

Got a voice mail today from Suzanne (not her real name), a grateful mother who saw one of CBR’s hand-held “Choice” signs.  She was on her way into an abortion clinic when she saw the two signs that CBR supervolunteer Gary Johnson displays at one of the clinics every Friday morning.

Gary has seen many moms turn around and leave the clinic after seeing abortion photos.  But this time, Suzanne walked over and thanked him for showing her the truth.  Gary gave her my number, so she called and left this message:

Fletcher, my name is Suzanne.  I was going to get an abortion today.  But I saw your pictures and I changed my mind.  So, I guess you helped save my baby’s life.  And you saved mine, too.  But I just want to say thank you for those pictures.  That was just horrible.  I couldn’t do it.  Thank you.  Please pray for me.

She was thanking Gary and me, and we are thanking you.  This is an eternal victory.  Because of your support, Satan was defeated in Knoxville today.  Suzanne’s baby was saved.  Thank you for supporting CBR.  And please pray for Suzanne and her baby.

To save more babies and moms like Suzanne, can I count you you to help?  Please click here to make a tax-deductible contribution!

There’s a very good article on our website by Gregg Cunningham, Executive Director of CBR:

Eternal Security for Infants: Illogical Indifference for Pastors

by Gregg Cunningham

One of the most common heresies committed by pastors who attempt to evade responsibility for defending life is to trivialize abortion on grounds that “aborted babies go to Heaven anyway.” Pastor Rick Warren, one of America’s most outspokenly pro-life clerics, made repeated resort to this argument when I challenged him to do more to fight abortion at Saddleback Church. Steve Douglas, now head of Campus Crusade for Christ, said the same thing in precisely the same words when I pressed him to do more to stop abortion. This bizarre theory is now endemic in the Body of Christ.  [more here]

UW sophomore and GAP organizer Marc Snyder debates with a fellow student over issues raised by the organization's display in Red Square. (Photo from the Daily of the University of Washington)

CBR is at the University of Washington with our Genocide Awareness Project.  You can read the story in the student paper here.

I’m always amazed at some of the incoherent responses to GAP that I read in student newspapers.  I’m slow to blame the students who are quoted, however, for several reasons.  First, I can tell you from experience that journalists don’t always get the quotes right.  I’ve been badly misquoted in the past, not out of malice, but because of a lack of journalistic experience and skill.  Second, as any car salesman will tell you, so many people resort to emotions rather than reason.  (That’s one reason we must use pictures, in addition to reason, to present the pro-life message.)  Third, so many of these students have suffered from lack of diversity all their lives.  The university has exposed them to the full range of political thought in America, from far left to extreme far left.  They’ve never been required to read “right-wing” documents like the US Constitution, the Federalist Papers, or anything else that might lead them to question leftist thought.  They are encouraged to read only left-leaning publications like Newsweek, NY Times, or even the far-left Huffington Post.

At the bottom of the story, there is opportunity for readers to comment.  For commenter Benny, click here for an article detailing when the medical community (and even pro-choice philosophers) say that human life begins.

I had to laugh at the suggestion that we pay for our campus work with the proceeds of lawsuits.  (Who say’s pro-life work can’t be fun?!)  I can assure you that we get zero funding from lawsuits.  We need your help, now as much as ever.  If only 20 people support our work as faithfully as you support cable TV, we can visit one additional campus every year.  If you are not supporting our work monthly, please sign up for a monthly amount equal to your cable TV bill!  According to Fr. Pavone, you will be saving lives like nothing the pro-life movement has ever seen!

Here is a story on internet censorship in Australia.  As it turns out, Austrailians are pursuing a policy that blocks not only porn websites, but also websites with “objectionable” political material.  Among those are CBR’s website and another website that features CBR’s abortion photos.

WARNING: this TV news story includes graphic depictions of porn websites that you wouldn’t see on American TV.  You can miss the porn images and see the part of the story that deals with CBR’s website and abortion images by going to the 31:45-to-34:30 segment of the story.  For the story, click here.

Some observations:

1. Abortion advocates know they can’t defend abortion in any population which has seen abortion.  So, they will simply ensure that the public doesn’t see it.
2. We should always be suspicious of government power.  Christians and pro-lifers offer unpopular messages, and there are many among us who would use the power of government to block those messages.  (Alinsky-ites like Obama, Reid, and Pelosi would stop at nothing to advance their agenda; if you doubt it, read Chapter 2 of their handbook, Rules for Radicals.)
3. Exercising raw bureaucratic power in Australia, they censored pro-life websites without even letting the pro-lifers know, much less giving them a chance to appeal.  (The Dems want to turn your health care, the internet, talk radio, etc. over to bureaucrats just like this.)
4. Note the anger directed at the pro-life campaigner: rocks being thrown, posters being torn down, etc.  People will always get more angry at us for showing the pictures of dead children than angry at the abortion doctors for killing the children.  That’s why we always videotape our pro-life activities and encourage you to do the same.
5. Mr. Grace’s campaign posters urged defense of unborn children but used photos of born children.  The whole problem is that the public doesn’t believe that killing an unborn child is the moral equivalent of killing a born child.  His campaign posters stated conclusions about abortion but the photos used on those posters did not prove the facts which support and even compel those conclusions.  We of course appreciate his use of abortion images on his website.

ProLifeOnCampus at Cal State Long Beach

CBR displayed the Genocide Awareness Project for two days at California State University at Long Beach for two days in May.  The photo to the right appeared on the front page of the student newspaper.  You can’t buy that kind of advertising!

Go to ProLifeOnCampus.com for more information.

It was a lively interview, to say the least.  Yesterday, I was interviewed by Stu Epperson on Truth Talk Live, a Christian radio talk show heard nationally.  The thesis of my presentation was that if you are not regularly (annually?) showing aborted-baby photos in your church (in an age-appropriate manner, of course), you are allowing babies to die that could have been saved.  Link to our page on TruthTalkLive.  For the interview itself, link to this page and click on “How Far Should We Go In Fighting For Life.”  You can also link to the Facebook page. 

One in every five women who aborts her pregnancy identifies herself as a born-again or evangelical Christian. That’s 250,000 abortions every year, just in the evangelical church alone. Add to that the hundreds of thousands of abortions committed on Catholics and other mainline Protestants who wouldn’t identify themselves using that term. Many are having abortions, not because they are evil, but because the truth of abortion has been hidden from them; and their pastors, elders, deacons, etc. are just as guilty of the coverup as Planned Parenthood.

What about rape? It’s one of the most popular questions they ask us. The question is often an attempt to prove that pro-lifers are either (a) insensitive “fetus lovers” who don’t care about women, or (b) ethically inconsistent, allowing abortion in some cases but not in others.  I’ve just written an article about it on our website.  Click here to check it out.

By the way, my answer consists of 6 steps, and I’m looking for an acronym that will help us all remember the 6 steps in the correct order.  (For example, SLED helps us remember size, level of development, environment, and degree of dependancy.)  Let me know if you think of anything!

If you are a college student or new graduate and you would like to spend your summer on pro-life activism, please contact the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform.  We would love to speak with you.  If you would like to sponsor a student for the summer, please contact us and let us know.

Here’s the latest on our brave U of Calgary students who have now been found “guilty” of exercising their rights of free speech, while being denied the right of legal representation.  Depriving people their right of free speech, threatening to deny them the education for which they have qualified, and denying them legal representation (due process) is contemptable behavior by government officials that would be disallowed by any American court; but Canada is a country with the same contempt for disfavored speech that is commonly found in countries ruled by Asian Communist regimes.  Freedom-loving people all over the globe should be encouraged and inspired by these students.

In America, CBR defends the rights of students to conduct pro-life activities on campus, but we can’t do it without your help.  Please help us keep this from happening in America by supporting our work (click here).

Here’s the press release from the Canadian CBR:

CALGARY – The University of Calgary has notified eight members of the Campus Pro-Life (CPL) student group that they have been found guilty of a major violation under the Non-Academic Misconduct Policy regarding a pro-life display held last month. The verdict comes one week after the students each attended individual, closed-door hearings with an Associate Vice-Provost during which legal representatives were disallowed.
The verdict is “a formal written warning” that if the students “fail to comply with directives of Campus Security staff in the future” it will “result in more severe sanctions,” said Acting Associate Vice-Provost Meghan Houghton, who was the sole decision-maker in the guilty verdict.
“We are going to challenge this verdict,” stated Alanna Campbell, CPL President. “We did not break a single University bylaw or regulation and so we will defend ourselves accordingly. We will also not cease exercising our rights to free speech just because they’re threatening us.
I’d rather be expelled as a principled person than graduate a coward.”
Last month, after having set up a pro-life display on campus for the ninth time since 2006, members of the group were notified that they were being charged with a ‘Major Violation’ under Section 4.10 of the University of Calgary’s Non-Academic Misconduct Policy for “failure to comply with a Campus Security officer or University official in legitimate pursuit of his/her duties” when asked to turn their signs inward or leave campus.
In Houghton’s decision, she referenced the university’s demand that the students failed to comply with: “Signs that welcomed viewers and signs that identified your group as an anti-abortion display could remain outward facing but signs with the actual content of your display… must face away from walkways… or any other areas in which persons on campus would have little choice but to look at your display.”
“That’s blatant content-based discrimination,” said Peter Csillag, CPL Vice-President (Internal). “Why weren’t abortion advocates, or Falun Gong supporters, forced to place their messages inwards when they protested on campus? You can’t have debate if everyone is pointed inwards on themselves. As far as I’m concerned, this verdict against us pro-lifers is not legitimate, and it reveals U of C to be an institute of censorship and double standards—not of higher learning.”
In 2006 and 2007, during the first four displays of the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) on campus, the University defended the students’ right to expression under the Charter, but in 2008 the University reversed its policy without explanation.
“This recent hearing and result is just another step in a long history of intimidation and censorship and if they think we’ll step down as the result of it then they’re sorely mistaken,” stated Cameron Wilson, CPL Vice-President (External).

If you are a pro-life student or pro-life group in America who is being denied equal access to your campus, its grounds, its facilities, etc. based on the content of your message, please contact us at CBR.  We can help you assess your situation and arrange for legal help, if needed.  Always obey the directives of your campus administration and police, because it is better to be a plaintiff in a civil rights action than to have to defend yourself against a trespassing charge.  But contact us immediately so that we begin the process of asserting your First-Amendment rights.

Please help us defend the rights of American students by supporting our work (click here).

The University of Calgary is moving ahead with proceedings against eight pro-life students who are being charged with tresspassing on their own campus.  Despite the fact that these proceedings could deprive these students of the same rights enjoyed by every other student on campus, they are being denied even the most basic right of legal representation.

It should be emphasized that if any public university in the USA were to attempt such blatant censorship and discrimination, they would be immediately be defending themselves in a Federal civil rights action.  And that university would lose.  As you pray for these students, you might also thank God that you live in a country where your most basic rights are protected by law, including the right of free speech and assembly.  Let’s work and sacrifice to keep it that way.  Here is the latest from the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform:

UNIVERSITY PROCEEDS TODAY WITH INDIVIDUAL, CLOSED-DOOR HEARINGS FOR PRO-LIFE STUDENTS, DISALLOWS LEGAL REPRESENTATIVES
The University of Calgary is proceeding with individual non-academic misconduct hearings, which include the possibility of expulsion, for eight members of the Campus Pro-Life (CPL) student group regarding a pro-life display held earlier this month. The University administration notified students that “legal representatives are not suitable Advisors and are not welcome” at the individual, closed-door hearings, scheduled for April 28th and April 30th.
“This feels like a show trial where they’ve already convicted us unjustly and now want to punish us unjustly,” said Alanna Campbell, CPL President.
Earlier this month, after having set up a pro-life display on campus for the ninth time since 2006, members of the group were notified that they were being charged with a ‘Major Violation’ under Section 4.10 of the University of Calgary’s Non-Academic Misconduct Policy for “failure to comply with a Campus Security officer or University official in legitimate pursuit of his/her duties.” In 2006 and 2007, during the first four displays of the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) on campus, the University defended the students’ right to expression under the Charter, but in 2008 the University reversed its policy without explanation.
Two hearings will be held on April 28th, at 1:00pm and 1:30pm. The remaining six are scheduled throughout the day on Friday, April 30th with the first at 9:30am.
“We’ve never received an explanation for why the University reversed their position, nor have we received any explanation as to what a security official’s legitimate duties actually include,” stated Vice-President Peter Csillag.
The group’s pro-life display, called the Genocide Awareness Project, has been held on the University of Calgary grounds without incident eight times since 2006. The display compares abortion to past historical atrocities, such as the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
“In exercising our freedom of expression rights, there is not a single University of Calgary bylaw or regulation broken,” said CPL Secretary Cristina Perri, “Obviously we’re going to challenge or appeal any adverse decision that comes from these or future hearings.”
In 2009, the University charged six students with trespassing in relation to the display, but the Crown Prosecutor stayed these charges prior to a trial scheduled for November of 2009.
In a statement to media on April 18th following notification of the Non-Academic Misconduct charges, CPL Vice-President (External) Cameron Wilson stated the Club’s position, “Our message to the University is this: do unto us whatever you desire, punish us however you wish; but our convictions shall not change, and we shall not alter our actions based on intimidation.”
For further information, contact Club President Alanna Campbell at (403) 690-5217, Vice-President (Internal) Peter Csillag at (403) 465-1777, or lawyer John Carpay of the Canadian Constitution Foundation at (403) 619-8014.

CBR recently took our Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) to the University of Delaware.  This was our second visit to this campus.  Click here to read the story in the student newspaper.