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!

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.

We are so grateful that we live in a country that respects freedom of speech.  Not so in some other places.  Like Canada!

We salute the pro-life students at the University of Calgary for their courageous stand against the heavy hand of censorship.   Story here.  It’s been widely covered in the popular press locally.  You can Google for the latest news.

Here is a press release issued by the Canadian Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform:

CALGARY. April 19th, 2010 – The University of Calgary has notified eight of its own students that they are being charged with non-academic misconduct, with a possibility of expulsion, for having set up a pro-life display on campus earlier this month.
Campus Pro-Life (CPL) Club President Leah Hallman stated, “We understand the severity of the charges, but our consciences could not contemplate silence, therefore we must stand by our convictions to fight for the lives of unborn children.”
The group’s Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) display has been held on the University of Calgary grounds without incident eight times since 2006. The GAP display compares abortion to past historical atrocities, such as the Rwandan genocide and the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
“They failed to convince the crown that we were trespassing on our own campus last year so now they want to charge us with ‘non-academic misconduct’ for exercising our right to express our views,” said Peter Csillag, CPL’s Vice-president. “We condemn and will challenge these charges, as we have with all previous attempts at censoring and intimidating us.”
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. The University has threatened participating students with non-academic misconduct charges on the occasion of each display, but this is the first time they are following through with their threat.
“Quite frankly, I can’t help but feel like we’re living parts of the novel One Day In The Life of Ivan Denisovich,” stated Vice-president Cameron Wilson, “it feels almost surreal that we still have to fight this battle on our own campus.”
Campus Pro-Life will be holding a press conference at 10:00am on Monday, April 19th, 2010 outside of the MacKimmie Library Building on the University of Calgary campus to make a formal statement and answer questions pertaining to new developments.

I just got this note from Kristen Giesler, the president of Students for Life at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, the group that recently hosted GAP on that campus.

The most poignant thing about my recent GAP experience at UNC-Charlotte is how every facet of the event exceeded my expectations and was nothing like I imagined.  Assuredly, I did not anticipate having an unfettered debate with a history professor.  Said professor was a prime example of how ideology and emotion prevent logical thinking.  He threw at me the usual litany of pro-abortion fodder.  After giving him a logical (non-aggressive and non-emotional) response to every argument, the professor found himself talking in circles and moving on to ponder the logic of life.  This, just by itself, elated my spirits; but fate had a further dainty in store for me.  Just a few weeks later, we were again displaying abortion photos on the UNCC campus, and who should approach me but this same professor!  Unlike our first meeting, his demeanor had changed.  He wasn’t angry anymore.  More importantly, he no longer tried to defend the pro-abortion position.  I do not believe his heart has changed yet, but it was obvious that the seeds of life are growing in his heart and mind; change is inevitable!

A crowd gathers during class change at UNC Charlotte.

Every day’s a great day when you’re doing God’s work.  We took our ProLifeOnCampus display to UNC Charlotte (UNCC) earlier this month.  A grandmother taking classes at UNCC asked our White House volunteer Kathy Hardin for some extra brochures.  (Kathy is from White House in 10EC, not DC, for all you people in Rio Linda.)  She said her granddaughter had gotten pregnant and considered abortion but the grandmother told her not to do it if she expected any help from her.   The granddaughter is now 5 months along and keeps asking if she did the wrong thing by keeping the baby.  The grandmother said, “I want some pictures to show her what the wrong thing is!”  The next day the grandmother came back and asked for more brochures to show to the teens at her church, because she said everyone else pretends like none of them ever have abortions.  She said she wished she could bring everyone to see the pictures.

The Truth Truck passes the student center as Caleb displays a "Choice" sing and Abigail hands out pro-life literature. It's a triple whammy!

While the GAP display was set up at the Belk Tower in the middle of campus, our Truth Trucks, “Choice” signs, and educational brochure helped us project pro-life power (the power of the pictures) far beyond the display itself.  Both days during lunchtime, the Students for Life and the Hardin children (Caleb and Abigail) took four “Choice” signs and a hundreds of our “How can you compare abortion to genocide?” brochures down to the UNCC Student Center.  At the same time, our Truth Truck was circling the campus.  One student walked out of the Student Center, saw the signs and the trucks and the brochures and exclaimed, with a mixture of disgust and admiration, “They’re everywhere!”  Which is exactly where we want to be, by God’s grace and with your help.

Please help, because this is a tough economy and some have lost their jobs.  If you still have yours, would you give for yourself and for another?  Thank you so much.

Jana Tutkova, founder of CBR Slovakia, traveled to North Carolina to help this student learn how abortion denies rights of personhood.

We recently returned from taking our ProLifeOnCampus display in North Carolina.  We were invited to Western Carolina University (WCU) by the WCU College Republicans.  There’s currently no pro-life group on campus, but we’ll be working to start one.

Knoxville volunteer Debbie Picarello was able to share the love of Christ with many post-abortive women.  She also spoke with many nominally pro-life Christian students who became committed pro-lifers after being shocked and awed by our huge abortion photos.  They had never seen abortion in their pro-life churches, which explains why 1 in 5 women who abort their babies identifies herself as a “born-again” or “evangelical” Christian.

We also spoke with a number of pro-life students who are now interested in starting a new pro-life student group on campus.  Such groups can have a huge impact on public opinion among their fellow students.

Western Carolina is a major university, but it’s in a rural part of Western North Carolina.  We found few pro-lifers who were able to help us defray the costs of this visit.  Please consider a special gift of $50, $100, or $500 to help defray the costs of this campus visit.  Thanks.

ProLifeOnCampus at the University of Tennessee

I told you it was working.  Here’s yet more evidence.

Dr. Jon Shields of Claremont McKenna College, writing for The Witherspoon Institute, cites our campus outreach project (GAP) as an important causative factor in changing attitudes about abortion among Americans 18 to 29 years old. Click here for his column.

In his column, Dr. Shields cites an essay by political scientists Clyde Wilcox and Patrick Carr in Congressional Quarterly’s Understanding Public Opinion, in which they report that American 18-29 year-olds are not only “less pro-choice than any other age group,”  but “also markedly less pro-choice than [the 18-29 year-olds] in any previous decade.”

Citing these findings, Dr. Shields attributed the growing pro-life consensus among young Americans partly to

“an innovative and massive pro-life campaign on college campuses that has been organized by groups such as Justice for All and the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform.  Collectively both groups have visited well over 100 campuses (many more than once) and drawn large crowds thanks to huge displays of aborted embryos that they set up on university quads.  As I have found in my own research, such images clearly shock many of the students who pass by and draw many others into philosophical conversations with pro-life activists.  These efforts excite precisely the sort of tension between our common cultural belief in the special worth of human organisms and approval of permissive abortion laws.”

It’s working!  If you want us to do more of it, please click here to help me as generously as you can.  Only 20 people can send me and my team to a major college campus every year if they support us as faithfully as they support cable TV.  Please click here to help me and my team visit one more school where babies and moms really need us! 

More information:

• Barak Obama, Abortion, and the Democrats
• Shifting Attitudes on Abortion
• Generational Differences on Abortion Narrow
• Support for Abortion Slips

ProLifeOnCampus at University of Arizona

Here we are at the University of Arizona.  Check out the editorial in the student paper.  They don’t like us — surprise, surprise, surprise — but there is opportunity for you to comment on the editorial.

More trips to major universities are planned for this Spring, but we need your help.  If you want to win hearts, change minds, and save lives on campus, please consider a special gift of $50, $150, $1000, or more.  Click here to invest in this life-saving project.  Please consider stretching yourself a bit, because another baby’s life is at stake.

Sharing the healing and hope.

Last night I attended the first fundraising banquet for Deeper Still, a post-abortion healing ministry based here in Knoxville.  Karen Ellison and her team are doing a great job over at Deeper Still.  I first became aware of their ministry when former client and now team member Debbie Picarello volunteered to help with our campus outreach ministry at the University of  Tennessee (UTK).  Debbie is a poster child for what they are doing at Deeper Still.  After experiencing the healing that comes from confession and forgiveness, she is taking that same healing to others.  At UTK, Debbie wore a sign on her shirt that said “I’ve had an abortion; ask me about it!”  Her witness helped us reach post-abortive and other students at UTK in ways we never could have otherwise.  In the following weeks, Debbie took the same message to the students at the University of California at Berkeley.  Hope and  healing are an important part of what we are doing at CBR through our campus outreach project.

CBR’s campus outreach program is already creating a stir at Florida Gulf Coast University. We haven’t even set up yet, and already there are three items in the Opinion section of the student paper! You may add your comments to any of them.