Posts Tagged ‘CBR’
Media coverage for Kentucky GAP
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 Appoints Darius Hardwick as New Midwest Director
Darius Hardwick speaking with a student at one of CBR's Genocide Awareness Projects (GAPs)
CBR is pleased to announce the appointment of Darius Hardwick as the Regional Director for its Midwest Operations, based in Columbus, Ohio. Darius has been on the CBR staff for more than 6 years, having previously served as the Director of CBR’s Northwest Operations.
Darius and his wife Janet were first exposed to CBR’s abortion imagery 7 years ago. They were both nominally pro-life but not actively participating in the struggle for life.
Then they saw the pictures.
They could not sleep. Abortion pictures were all they thought of for weeks. They became monthly financial supporters and began to volunteer at GAPs.
The more he volunteered, the more he knew that he must make saving babies his full-time profession. The other side has made killing babies a full-time profession, but we have made saving them a part-time hobby. This is a huge problem, and Darius knew he had to be part of the solution.
Darius had owned his own construction business in Oregon for 10 years. He had a substantial client base and was always busy, regardless of economic conditions. But he was not at peace laying beautiful wood flooring, while babies were being killed every day. After serving in the Northwest for a time, he moved his family of to Columbus, Ohio, to serve as a Project Director in CBR’s Midwest Operations.
Having previously served as the Northwest Operations Director, Darius brings outstanding leadership skills to his new role in CBR. He has directed CBR’s Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) at some of America’s largest and most influential universities.
Darius and his family are dedicated to showing people the truth of abortion and are excited for the future and all that God has for them. We are excited that Darius and his family are on our team.
The Hardwick Family
Pro Life on Campus at the University of Delaware
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 Training Academy at University of Delaware
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!
Summer Interships avialable, but time is short.
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!
Abortion and fairness to the father
I was on George Korda’s State Your Case radio show earlier today. During a break, Mr. Korda forced himself to watch the video at the CBR website. In the hour we had, we hit many of the standard questions.
One issue that Mr. Korda brought up was the “unfairness” to the father of the child. If the mother decides to abort the child, the father has no say. If the mother decides to keep the child, the father is legally required to provide financial support. In the fog of give-and-take that is live radio, I didn’t get to respond to that comment. I had fielded a similar question in my debate at Eastern Kentucky University—more on that later—a couple of weeks ago.
Fairness to the father is not the issue. If the preborn child is less than human, then the father has no rights to the “blob of tissue” that the mother carries within her own body. Since she is the one carrying the “blob,” it would be her right to decide whether to keep it or not. She has more skin in the game, if I can say it that way. But if she decides to carry, then the father is absolutely liable to support the child financially, not because of her decision to carry, but because of his decision to have sex in the first place.
But if the preborn child is a human being—science tells us he/she is a living human being from the moment of fertilization—then it is the baby’s rights which are at stake, not the father’s. If we treat every human being with equal value and dignity, fairness demands that the baby’s life be protected, regardless of whether or not the child is wanted by the father. If both father and mother freely chose to engage in the reproductive act, then they both share the responsibility to support the child.
Either way, fairness to the father is not an issue. Fairness to the unborn child (and her mother) are of paramount concern. Having your life stolen from you because you are “unwanted” is the ultimate unfairness.
Pro Life on Campus at the University of Kentucky
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!
Pro Life on Campus at Eastern Kentucky, Day 2
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!
Pro Life on Campus at Eastern Kentucky University
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.
Pro Life Summit at Ave Maria
Fr. Frank Pavone and Tom Monaghan
I’m in Ave Maria, Florida today representing CBR at the 2nd annual pro-life leader’s summit, spearheaded by Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life.
Jill Stanek is also blogging from the table. Her blog has been ranked among the top 100 conservative websites in the nation. That’s impressive, but FletcherArmstrongBlog is the #1 pro-life blog in all of Karns.
From here, it’s on to Richmond, Kentucky, for our Pro Life Training Academy tomorrow morning.
Crosses for the Unborn … on steroids.
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.
Student reactions to Pro Life on Campus at University of West Florida
Pro Life on Campus at University of West Florida
On February 14-15, CBR took the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) to the University of West Florida. The video below features students talking about the project.
Media coverage was extensive:
Pro Life on Campus: A First Amendment seminar
When CBR goes to school, we not only bring the truth of abortion, we also give a lesson on the First Amendment. Here is an article that appeared in the aftermath of our visit to the University of West Florida.
The “free-speech” zones, as applied at many universities, is without question unConstitutional, because it restricts speech on 99% of the campus, without any compelling state interest in doing so. “We like our speech bottled up where we can keep an eye on it” is not a compelling state interest. Neither is, “We’ve always restricted speech to this location.” What they are saying, in essence, is this: “We deny everybody’s First Amendment rights equally, so it’s OK.” Needless to say, that would get the university laughed out of court if they were foolish enough to make that argument.
After we explain the First Amendment to the most university attorneys, they generally accept our legal reasoning. Of course, the fact that we are ready and willing to take our case to court, if necessary, also helps them see the light.
Here’s what we say in our standard notification letter to each university to which we take our GAP project:
… pursuant to well-settled law, CBR enjoys an undisputed First Amendment right to conduct educational presentations in any public forum. “[A] principal purpose of traditional public fora is the free exchange of ideas,” Cornelius v. NAACP Legal Defense & Ed. Fund, 473 U.S. 788, 800 (1985), and other purposes include “assembly, communicating thoughts between citizens, and discussing public questions,” Hague v. Committee for Ind. Organization, 307 U.S. 496, 515 (1939). A college or university is “peculiarly the ‘marketplace of ideas.’” Healy v. James, 408 U.S. 169, 180 (1972). While we do not accept the proposition that free speech can be limited to designated areas, there is no serious doubt that “free speech” areas on your campus are public fora in which CBR’s rights cannot be limited unless certain standards are met.
The standard for content-based restrictions on speech is that any such regulation must be necessary to serve a compelling state interest and be narrowly drawn to achieve that end. Boos v. Barry, 485 U.S. 312, 321 (1988). Furthermore, such regulations “must be subjected to the most exacting scrutiny.” Id. Only speech such as obscenity, defamation, and fighting words has been found to meet that standard. See, e.g., R.A.V. v. St. Paul, 505 U.S. 377, 383 (1992). Your client will have no such “compelling” interests as to CBR’s speech.
The standard for content-neutral restrictions on speech is that any such regulations must be “narrowly tailored to serve a significant government interest, and leave open ample alternative channels of communication.” Perry Ed. Ass’n v. Perry Local Educator’s Ass’n, 460 U.S. 37, 45 (1983) (emphasis added). The University undoubtedly has “significant interests” in speech on public property. Those interests are safety and traffic flow on streets and sidewalks and the opportunity for students to access educational services without substantial interference. Cf. Widmar v. Vincent, 454 U.S. 263, 277 (1981).
It is axiomatic, however, that the First Amendment is especially protective of speech which is offensive. In fact, offensive speech is the only speech which requires protection. See, e.g., Forsyth County v. Nationalist Movement, 505 U.S. 123, 134-35 (1992) (speech cannot be “punished or banned, simply because it might offend a hostile mob”); Cohen v. California, 403 U.S. 15, 21 (1971) (viewers who dislike a message have a responsibility to “avoid further bombardment of their sensibilities simply by averting their eyes”); Terminiello v. City of Chicago, 337 U.S. 1, 4 (1949) (free speech “may indeed best serve its high purpose when it induces a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction with conditions as they are, or even stirs people to anger”). Therefore, the possibility that CBR’s photos or literature or remarks might offend passersby has no legal significance and cannot properly be used as a basis for restricting that speech.
As noted above, CBR is prepared to accept reasonable time, place, and manner restrictions on its expressive activity and will make reasonable efforts to ensure that their conduct does not negatively affect legitimate interests of the university. But CBR will not accept unreasonable restrictions. An example of an unreasonable restriction would be any attempt by the university to minimize controversy by relegating CBR’s display to some obscure campus location.
Another young pro-life champion
Peter Ascik hosted GAP at U of Georgia in Fall 2010.
One of the best parts of my job is to meet, encourage, and (we hope, at some level) influence young pro-life activists. One such young pro-life champion is Peter Ascik. We first met Peter in 2008, when we took our Pro Life on Campus project (GAP) to Appalachian State U, where Peter was an undergraduate. Now he is in graduate school at the U of Georgia, where he serves as President of the Students for Life.
Peter and his group hosted GAP at the U of Georgia last Fall, and is currently preparing to bring the Justice for All (JFA) display this Spring. The JFA display features CBR abortion photos. In preparation for the display, he wrote this column in the U of Georgia student paper. He wrote:
We understand the pictures of unborn human beings destroyed by abortion are disturbing. But a critical thinker may ask why it is so disturbing to see them.
***
We believe these images are so disturbing because it is inconsistent for us to speak about human rights — while we ignore the rights of the youngest and most vulnerable humans.
For the entire column, click here.
To help us raise up and train more pro-life champions like Peter, click here and make a generous donation.
Pro Life on Campus at Florida Atlantic University
GAP at Florida Atlantic University
CBR’s Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) tour of Florida concluded at Florida Atlantic University (FAU) on February 23-24. Media coverage:
