GAP at 2011 March for Life

People always want to know if the pictures work.  Here’s a message left on our AbortionNo.org website:

Yesterday I went to the March for Life 2011 in Washington DC.  I live about 20 minutes outside of DC.  I went with my high school.  People told us we were crazy to go out for 5 hours in 20 degree weather, but I told them I wouldn’t miss it.  At the March, I saw the abortionNO.com billboards and had to stop and look.  My friends and I were aghast.  … [Later, at home that night,] I remembered the posters from this website.  I decided to take a look.  That was about 2 and half hours ago.  I looked at the pictures and watched the videos and read the mothers’ accounts of regret after the abortion.  I am crying.  In the past couple hours, I also started researching about President Obama’s views on abortion, about Planned Parenthood, and about the actual process of abortion.  I have been reading many abortion articles by Michelle Malkin, and I just learned about the Philadelphia Horror.  I JUST HEARD ABOUT IT.  Something that awful and horrific, how could that not be top story on the news???  Reality TV stars get more airtime on the news than actual murder of babies.  I am crying right now, at the injustice of it all!  I watched the news last night to see if there would be coverage of the March.  It got a one minute spot 40 minutes after the program started, after local news, some report about a reality TV star, and 2 weather reports.  Where are our PRIORITIES??

I have spent a good deal of time on this website, at least 2 and half hours.  I am reading all of the reports and looking at all of the pictures because right after I send this, I am writing a letter to my Congressman.  I have never felt more inspired to take action after looking at this website.

I have always been ProLife, having been raised in a strong Catholic family, and having received a Catholic education.  But ever since I began reading all this information and seeing all the pictures online today,  I have never truly understood the injustice.  I promise not to just be a prolife supporter now, I promise to be a prolife advocate.  I will be a voice to those who cannot be heard.  I may only be 15, but I will not stand for the absolute crap that is going on here.  Thank you, THANK YOU, for opening my eyes to the reality of how bad abortion was.

JillStanek.com is a pro-life blog that is read world-wide.  Readers are burning up the comment lines on two recent postings featuring CBR:

1. My post, Use of graphic pictures not optional.  This post generated more than 100 comments.  Please go add your own!  This post was a good lead-in to this next one …
2. Jill’s post, Video: The most shocking 4-minute abortion debate you will ever see.  A new CBR video juxtaposes shocking, graphic abortion footage upon a soothing videothat was produced by the Northland Family Planning Centers, a chain of late-term abortion clinics in Michigan.  The Northland video describes abortion as an act of “courage.”  The CBR overlay displays the truth.  (Note: the link given here just goes to Jill’s posting, not the video itself.)

I was pleased to a speaker at the Students for Life of America (SFLA) conference in DC yesterday.  There were four of us on a panel discussing the use of graphic images.  I spoke first and used some of that time to talk about the history of social reform.  Successful reformers have always used pictures to help people see (1) the humanity of the victims and (2) the horror if the injustice they sought to correct.  Here are my slides.

Two of the speakers who followed me raised objections that easily could have been rebutted, but I was given no opportunity to do so.  I had actually anticipated their objections and addressed them fair adequately in my opening statement, but I still wanted to reemphasize some of the main points in the face of factual inaccuracies and logical fallacies advanced by my debate partners.  Some of their objections:

1. Because some people who use pictures are not compassionate to women, then showing pictures is not compassionate — An obvious logical fallacy.  Further, Dr. Alveda King, who has had 2 abortions, said she is glad photos are being shown so that other women won’t have to experience the pain that she has endured.
2. Pictures hurt children because it upsets them — Violent photos are routinely seen on magazine covers that children see at the supermarket.  Schindler’s List was shown on NBC and PBS during prime family viewing hours; few people complained.  An emergency siren will terrify young children, but we still put sirens on fire trucks.
3. Some people see the pictures and think we might be violent — Racists and civil rights moderates tried to associate Dr. King with the violent tactics of the Black Panthers.  CBR condemns violence and will not associate with anybody who fails to condemn violence.
4. Other methods can save babies — True, but many women have reported that they didn’t have abortions because of abortion photos and that nothing else but those pictures had dissuaded them.  Also, our goal shouldn’t be just to save a few, but to get rid of the whole bloody mess.
5. GAP was a failure because some people objected to the genocide comparisons and used it to change the subject — Pro-aborts always try to change the subject, no matter what you do.
6. GAP was a failure because a lot of people didn’t stop to talk and therefore didn’t learn facts —The pictures convey at a glance the facts that matter most: the preborn child is a baby and abortion is an act of violence.
7. Most people like arguments more than pictures — Most people don’t care about philosophy, arguments, etc..  They are trying very hard to ignore or trivialize abortions, and pictures don’t let them do it.  We have show pictures and be prepared to debate.
8. There was more but I can’t remember.

I hope we get to do this again.  I am going to ask for more opportunity to rebut arguments.

Pro-aborts: CBR tactics are "really effective."

We have many endorsements from college students, pro-life activists, political leaders, and others who have seen our work in action.  But this piece amounts to the strongest endorsement we have ever gotten.

Freedom of (hate) speech: Confronting the rise of anti-choice activities on Canadian campuses was written by a pro-abortion activist in Canada who laments the effectiveness of our Canadian CBR affiliate.  She is so frustrated by the effectiveness of our work, she believes only censorship and bully tactics can ensure our defeat.

The more sophisticated of our opponents know that any open admission of our effectiveness will only make our fundraising and recruiting efforts more effective.  That is what makes the candor in this article so remarkable.  Military intelligence officials who interrogate prisoners of war usually focus their questions on determining what their captors believe to be the most effective tactics being employed against them and why.  Our abortion adversaries just volunteered that information and we didn’t even need to water-board them!

Some excerpts:

These on-campus battles are the new front line of pro-choice activism in Canada.  But with anti-choicers setting the terms of debate, how can pro-choice activists respond?  [Note their admission that CBR is setting the terms of the debate, which is exactly what we want to do.]

But one thing that they have been really effective at doing is coming up with messaging that affects the popular discourse, which I think is a really dangerous thing because it will eventually seep into the legislature and the courts.  [Another admission that CBR is “really effective.”  Note the recognition that our work on campus will transform culture.]

Anti-choice groups are using the free speech argument to win the public relations battle …  [The author believes we are winning.  That’s important, because winning is how the killing stops.]

These presentations and displays have provoked a pro-choice response in a way the activities of other anti-choice groups have not.  [That’s because the activities of other pro-life groups, in the view of the author, are not effective and need not be countered.]

With anti-choicers setting the terms of debate, pro-choice advocates have had to grapple with the utility of confronting these groups head-on …  [To this author, “confronting these groups head-on” means shouting us down and running us off the stage.]

A new generation of anti-choice groups is establishing a reputation for itself on Canadian campuses, with increasingly visible tactics that many pro-choice activists call discriminatory, harassing and hateful.  [Note the significance of “harassing” and “hateful” labels, which could allow pro-life speech to be censored under Canadian law.]

The university administration is barraged with phone calls and emails calling for the event to be shut down on the grounds that it amounts to harassment and is offensive to women …  Shortly after the event begins, a group of about 10 women and their allies enter the room, chanting and blocking the projector with the intent of disrupting the presentation.  [The context of this passage is an explicit endorsement of censorship and bully tactics.]

… the CCBR legally constitute hate speech by inciting hatred towards those women who have or support the right to have abortions, and should thus be restricted in order to prevent the harassment of women.  [Note the call for censorship.]

Unfortunately, it seems that the freedom of expression of protesters is not taken as seriously at McGill as hateful speech …  [Note the dismay over lack of censorship.]

Let me encourage you to attend a March for Life event this year.

National March for Life.  The national March for Life will be held in Washington, DC on January 24.  That’s where I’ll be, because I will be speaking at the Students for Life Annual Conference on the day before the March.  I’m on a panel discussion on the pros and cons of showing graphic abortion photos.  (Not sure which side I’ll end up taking.)  CBR’s GAP exhibit will be on display alongside the march route.

Knoxville, Tennessee.  Tennessee Right to Life, Knox County Chapter is holding their prayer service and march at 2:00 pm, Sunday, January 23, at Calvary Baptist Church, 3200 Kingston Pike.  Alan Williams, WVLT News Anchor, will be speaking.  Should be awesome; sorry I’ll miss it.  After a brief prayer service, marchers will walk 0.8 miles down Kingston Pike and Concord Street to Tyson Park.  Shuttles will be available back to the church.  It matters if you are there.  Here’s the link.

Atlanta, Georgia.  In Atlanta, Georgia Right to Life will be holding their Together for Life Rally at 11:30 am, Friday, January 21, on the steps of the Georgia State Capitol.  Rebecca Kiessling will be speaking.  Here’s a bulletin insert for your church.

Send me your event and I’ll post it here.

Want to see the next President?   Get your tickets today!   A new poll from CNN/Opinion Research Corp. shows Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee leading the field of potential Republican presidential candidates for 2012.

Gov. Huckabee will be at the Knoxville Convention Center to speak for CBR / Pro Life on Campus on Monday, February 14.  Group discounts available.

Please plan to attend.  The purpose of this event is to raise money to save babies, so get a table and invite your Christian friends  to sit with you.  It will be a fun evening, and you’ll be glad you came.  I promise.

Details at www.KnoxvilleHuckabeeDinner.com.

Would you like to meet the next President in person?  Want to bring your best customers?  Sponsors are invited to attend a special reception with Gov. Huckabee.  Call 1-800-521-6692 for more information.  Time is running out.

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

Gabrielle and her classmates are fighting the good fight on the battleground that must not be lost. The consequences of losing are too horrifying to contemplate, but they are outnumbered and surrounded.

Today, 66 years ago, the Battle of the Bulge began.  Soon, the eyes of the world would focus on Bastogne, a little town in Belgium.  As it turns out, the 101st Airborne had gone to Bastogne for some well-deserved R&R.  Nobody expected the battle that was about to ensue.

Geography made Bastogne the most important location on the battlefield.  All roads led to Bastogne.  (Tennesseans know the strategic importance of Chattanooga in the War Between the States, because all railroads went through this city.)  It was squarely in the middle of the German salient, and it was the key to victory.

The 101st Airborne fought bravely to hold the city, but they were surrounded, outnumbered, and outgunned.  Still, they fought on.  They were teenagers.

George Patton knew the war could be won or lost at Bastone, so he turned his army 90 degrees to the north and raced toward the city.  Yes, they were already in a battle of their own.  Yes, it was cold.  Yes, it was difficult.  But Patton knew the consequences of German victory would be too horrifying to contemplate.  On December 26, 1944, Patton’s army broke through to relieve the 101st.  For all practical purposes, the war was decided.

In the culture wars, the college campus is Bastogne.  That is where the war will be decided.  The Left understands this.  Although liberals comprise only 20% of the American population, they are 72% of all college professors.  They decide what is taught to the next generation.  They fight to remove all traces of Christian morality and thought.

Christian pro-lifers in this environment are like the 101st Airborne.  When they head off to college, they don’t know about the battle that will soon engulf them.  They are teenagers.

From their first day on campus, their beliefs are viscously and relentlessly attacked and mocked, by professors and fellow students alike.  They fight bravely, but they are outnumbered and surrounded.  They deserve our help.

The culture wars will be won or lost on the college campus.  We (all of us) are Patton’s army.  At CBR / Pro Life on Campus, we race to college campuses with the ammunition of plain truth about abortion.  We train pro-lifers how to articulate and defend the pro-life position.  We bring our GAP project and our truth trucks to reinforce the message that (1) the unborn child is a baby and (2) abortion is much worse than people think.

We are helping pro-life students fight the good fight, not against flesh and blood, but “against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high [places]” (Ephesians 6:12).

We need your help.  At a bare minimum, would you consider $20/month, over and above what you are already doing?  If we can get 1,500 of you to do this—if you do it, the others will—we can visit an additional 42 major universities every single year.  Your $20/month will help us reach a million students every single year.  If $20 seems too little compared to what’s at stake, feel free to do more.  If $10 is all you have, then we ask you to commit that much.

Yes, you are already doing other things. Yes, it will cost you something.  But we ask you to join this battle for the future of our nation, because the consequences of losing are just to horrifying to contemplate.

Steve Saint has invented a flying car.  You may recall the story of Steve’s father Nate Saint, who was a missionary pilot.  In 1956, he and four other missionaries were killed by Waodani Indians during an effort to make peaceful contact with them.

We have all been inspired by their sacrifice and the courage shown by family members of these men, women actually returned to the Waodani Indians with the good news of Jesus Messiah.

Steve is now himself a missionary pilot, and has been a huge help to CBR in setting up our airborne RCC campaign, which features huge abortion photos on airplane tow banners.  Now he’s invented a flying car!  Check it out:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zzs-Cd0PL2s

Click here to see story by CNN.

Pro Life on Campus at Kennesaw State University

The Kennesaw University Sentinel:

• The men behind the display

The University of Georgia Red and Black:

• Anti-abortion display an offensive spectacle (letter)
• Freedom of speech prevails in Tate Plaza
• Tate Plaza Abortion Display
• Abortion display offensive (letter)
• Abortions do not equal Holocaust
• Display violates University Code of Conduct
• Abortion display shows the truth (letter)

The Student Free Press

• A misguided call for censorship in UGA student newspaper

Jane and the photos are a powerful combination.

This is from Jane Bullington, CBR Southeast Project Director.  Please pray for mom, dad, and baby.

Three Lives Saved

She walked over the hill and down the walkway, stopping to gaze at the pictures. A typical student on her way to class, or so I thought. I asked if she had any questions. “Evelyn” looked at me with teary eyes, “I’ve just come from the health clinic; I’m pregnant. I was asking for a big RED sign to tell me what to do. I almost never walk to class this way, but I did today, and here are your signs.” I hugged her and said “I think this is just the sign you are looking for; can we talk?” As we I talked, she told me her friend (on the phone) was encouraging her to keep the baby, but her boyfriend was leaning toward abortion. I asked what her parents would say. “They will be disappointed,” was the answer. I suggested to her that disappointment is often a short-lived emotion and when they hold their grand baby, it will be very different. I told her that at 6 weeks, her baby has a heartbeat, brain waves, and all his systems in place. We talked about what abortion could do to her. I gave her our papers on psychological and physical effects of abortion, so she could be well-armed when she spoke with her parents. I also gave her the phone number for the Hope Resource Center (HRC) near the campus. My parting comments were very personal. I told Evelyn I would be honored to walk with her through this pregnancy if she kept her baby and if she stayed in Knoxville throughout the pregnancy. (I later asked God to allow me this privilege.) She cried, we hugged, and she walked away.

About half an hour later, Evelyn came back and told me her boyfriend was coming to see the pictures, and she would like me to talk with him. I saw “George” approaching and introduced myself, saying I realized this was not what he expected when he woke up this morning. He grinned slightly.

I left them alone to look at the photos and talk, but I kept my eye on him the whole time. He was distant and talkative, but would not look at the pictures in any great detail. After a few minutes, they came back to me. I asked George if he had time and would he allow me to talk with him for a few minutes. He agreed and we sat down. “George, you are already a father; you have a baby. It is a tiny baby, but it is your baby.” The lines on his face immediately softened and he visibly relaxed. I basically shared all that I had told Evelyn, and said to him, “George, I don’t think Evelyn is asking you to marry her; she just wants emotional support from you. I have already told her I will be here for her the entire way, if she wants or needs my help, and I will be here for you too.” He smiled, thanked me, and said “we will be calling you a lot of times.” He stood up, took my hand, and then walked off with Evelyn, arm in arm.

The next day, I took Evelyn a copy of The Biology of Prenatal Development, a wonderful DVD showing the growth of the baby in the womb, produced by The Endowment for Human Development (www.ehd.org). She promised to view it with her surrogate dad the next weekend and seek his support. She and George had already scheduled a counseling session with an on-campus ministry chaplain, and were going to inquire about putting “their baby” in on-campus childcare next fall where she works. She hopes they can get in to see someone at HRC the next Monday, before the Thanksgiving holiday. My parting advice: “There will be ups and downs in the next few weeks, and you may have thoughts of changing your mind, but don’t do anything in a hurry. Call me before you do anything different from we have talked about, please.” She agreed, but said “George is in baby mode, and while I am still in a muddle, I know what we are going to do.” We hugged and cried again, and off she went.

Do the pictures work? Oh, yes they do! For the unborn child, for the scared mother, and for the doubtful dad.

Abortion Photo over Liberty University

CBR is flying a huge photo of abortion over Liberty University this week, so that Liberty students can learn the truth. For many of them, it will be the first time. WSET-TV has the story.  Watch the video!

Most people have abortions simply because they don’t know who the unborn child is, nor do they know what abortion does. Christian youth are just as vulnerable, because “pro-life” churches are covering up the truth as effectively as everyone else. If your church is not showing abortion photos or video, babies are being lost that could have been saved.

The coverup at Christian schools is just as egregious, if not more so. The most striking examples are Notre Dame University and Liberty University, arguably the flagship universities of the Catholic and Protestant worlds, respectively. Both have prevented the display of abortion photos on their campuses. The First Amendment protects pro-life education at public universities, but not at private schools. It is mind-blowing to think that public university students know more about abortion than Christian university students.

Just a year ago, I showed abortion to a small group of maybe five Liberty University students. None had seen abortion before. One of them later wrote,

Seeing all those graphic photos and that video brought me to tears and showed me [abortion] is murder; it is wrong. I want to now fight for their lives.

Another wrote,

I witnessed my first abortion through the images and clips by the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. That has changed my view on abortion. … [After] actually seeing the results of this murder, I am pro-life because abortion is bluntly murder and should be outlawed!! I believe these pictures should be shown to change the minds of people on abortion.

Fortunately, the airspace over these universities is still free. Last year, we flew abortion photos over the Notre Dame campus.

Expect us to be more and more aggressive in educating Christians in the public spaces around their schools and churches.  If abortion is to be stopped, three adverse conditions must be corrected:

1. Christian people must know what abortion is and does.  (They don’t.)
2. Christian people must act in proportion to the injustice.  (We don’t.)
3. The Church must lead.  (It doesn’t.)

By ourselves, we can’t do much about #2 and #3, but we will do everything we can to correct the lack of knowledge.

UGa students call this their annual "Don't Go By Tate Plaza if You're In a Hurry" Day.

One of our favorite places to carry the pro-life message is the University of Georgia.  We always get huge crowds, and today was no different.

The center-piece and magnet for our presentation was obviously the Pro Life on Campus GAP display on Tate Plaza.   But that was just the beginning.

Add to that a poll table, in this case staffed by Toby Tatum of Georgia Right to Life.  Using a simple question, “Should abortion remain legal?”, Toby was able to engage a steady stream of students

Add to that a table-top display by the Athens Pregnancy Center.  Add to that a table-top display by Deeper Still, a post-abortion counseling ministry.

Pro-abort coment and our response

Add to that our Free Speech Board, where students are invited to write their comments.  We (along with other students) write responses.  For example, a student wrote, “Don’t judge people!  You never know why they decided abortion was right for them.”  I responded, “Let’s see if this works … ‘Don’t judge people.  You never know why they decided owning slaves was right for them.”

Catherine Davis of Georgia Right to Life, Director of Minority Outreach at GRTL, drew huge crowds as she described how abortion providers target minoirity communities.

Georgia Right to Life President Dan Becker explains how unborn children are denied rights of personhood.

Great day at Kennesaw State University.  This is the 3rd largest university in all of Georgia.  We were priviledged to be joined by several of our friends from Georgia Right to Life who joined us for the entire day.

PLTA Faculty Member Toby Tatum at UGa.

It’s Sunday afternoon and we are conducting our Pro Life Training Academy (PLTA) at the University of Georgia (UGa).  We are encouraged by the students and community members who are attending this training.

PLTA students learn how to articulate and respectfully defend the pro-life position.  On Wednesday and Thursday, PLTA students will have a unique opportunity for on-the-job training by helping staff our GAP display at Tate Plaza in the heart of the UGa campus.

In addition to training pro-life advocates, the PLTA seeks to unite pro-lifers behind common goals of education, training, and outreach.  We appreciate so much the efforts of the Georgia Right to Life, Athens Area Right to Life, UGa Students for Life, the Athens Pregnancy Center, and the University Church (in Athens) to make this event a huge success!

For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ProLifeTraining.

Toby Tatum of the Pro Life Training Academy

It’s Saturday morning and we are conducting our Pro Life Training Academy (PLTA) at Kennesaw State University (KSU).  It’s a huge success.  We’re almost standing-room-only and people are still pouring in!

Today, PLTA students (ranging in age from teenager to granny) are learning how to articulate and respectfully defend the pro-life position.  Role-playing will prepare students for real encounters.

On Monday and Tuesday, PLTA students will have a unique opportunity for on-the-job training by helping staff our GAP display at Kennesaw State.

In addition to training pro-life advocates, the PLTA seeks to unite pro-lifers behind common goals of education, training, and outreach.  We appreciate so much the efforts of the Georgia Right to Life, the KSU Pro-Life Ambassadors, and Cobb Pregnancy Services to make this event a huge success!

For more information, go to www.facebook.com/ProLifeTraining.