If you watched the big Cunningham-Hunter debate on Incrementalism vs. Immediatism, you may have seen CBR Executive Director Gregg Cunningham announce that CBR would no longer include the following statement in it’s Volunteer Agreement for the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) and other projects:

If asked a secular question, I will give only a secular answer, not a spiritual answer.  I will give spiritual answers only in response to a spiritual question or comment.  (Note:  Many people reject spiritual answers and use them to change the conversation or to discredit the pro-life position.)

Yes, this is going away, but I wanted to clarify the confusion about what it meant and why it was included in our Volunteer Agreement in the first place.

First of all, this was in no way a prohibition to sharing the Gospel.  In our GAP training, which we call the Pro Life Training Academy (PLTA), we routinely remind people that God commands us to share the Gospel.  I have shared my Faith at GAP on many occasions.  Other staff and volunteers have done the same.

But if a student asks why abortion is wrong, it is pointless to reply, “The Bible says, ‘Thou shalt not kill’”  Three reasons:

1. If the student does not accept the authority of Scripture, then such a pronouncement won’t be very compelling to him.  We have to reach him where he is and go from there, just like Paul did in Athens (Acts 17:16-34).  He preached the Jewish Scripture to the Jews, who accepted the authority of Scripture.  But with the Athenians, he stared with a frame of reference they would understand.
2. In most cases, the student likely already accepts the premise that killing a human being is immoral.  (Even atheists agree that killing 6 million Jews is immoral.)  He just disagrees that the preborn child is morally equivalent to a born person.  Most often, his mistake is not a belief that killing is OK, but is rather a belief that preborn children are somehow subhuman.
3. People mistakenly believe our opposition to abortion is just a religious tenant that should remain a matter of personal discretion, much like our belief in keeping the Sabbath.  But we don’t oppose legalized abortion because it violates our religious beliefs; we oppose legalized abortion because it unjustly kills another human being.  That is a much different argument, and we need to make that point crystal clear.

Of course we can also share the Gospel, but we can make a compelling arguments against abortion that don’t depend on a belief in Scripture to be credible.

Some people want CBR to be focus primarily on evangelism.  But if we were to do that, what version of evangelical message would we adopt?  Would it be a Catholic version?  A Baptist version?  A Lutheran version?

We don’t have a theological statement, nor do we proscribe an evangelical approach that all must embrace.  We, like others in the pro-life movement, work with Catholics, Protestants, non-denominational, and even anti-denominational Christians to witness against the evil of child sacrifice.  When it comes to sharing the Gospel; we have to believe that every Christian is being trained (or should be trained) how to do this within their own particular Church.  (Full disclosure: On occasion, atheists have volunteered to help with our outreaches to secular audiences, and we have accepted their help.)

There need to be places in the pro-life movement — and we believe CBR should be one of those places — where Christians of good will can come together to fight a common foe, which is child sacrifice.  Otherwise, we end up fighting each other… about Catholic vs. Protestant, Calvinist vs. Arminian, Latin liturgy vs. Southern drawl, King-James-only (KJO) vs. Nearly Inspired Version (NIV), etc., etc. etc.  The list of issues that could divide us, if we let them, is endless.

If you don’t agree, if you believe your pro-life-ism cannot be separated from your particular brand of Christianity, and if you can’t work with other Christians outside your own particular brand, then there is still a place for you in the movement.  But CBR won’t be that place, because our mission transcends denominational boundaries.

That is not a statement of judgement against denominational pro-life work.  To the contrary; we wish every “pro-life” church would join this fight, as a part of the mission of that church.  And true to our calling, we will make our abortion images available to you and support your denominational pro-life mission in every way possible.

Enraged professor confronts CBR personnel and police.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

She shouted, screamed and profanely vented her anger.  East Carolina University (ECU) police officers were forced to intervene, stepping between this professor and CBR personnel.  Students could see the uncivil, vitriolic reaction of this pro-abort, in living color.

“Why did you come to this University?” another female professor asked.  Her reaction was completely different.  At first she was surprised.  After hearing more about our Genocide Awareness Project, she was thrilled beyond measure.  She thanked us for coming to ECU because of her great concerns over self-destructive student behaviors, including Satanism, abortions, and fornication.  She knew that great evil lurked on the campus, but that our presence helped to combat that evil.

Please help us do more of this.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

An angry woman confronts CBR’s Maggie Egger.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

“You should have been aborted!” a male Grand Valley State University student shouted at CBR’s Jane Bullington.  While it hurts to be told these things, it could be taken as a good sign.

First and foremost, their anger shows that the images have pricked their consciences.  The images are disturbing, but Dr. Martin Luther King taught us that until people are disturbed by the status quo, there is no pressure for change.

When they say, “You should have been aborted,” they show that they understand, on some level, that abortion does take a human life.  They wish that our lives had been taken.  They sometimes follow up with, “I hope you die!”  Note the connection.  In other words, “I wish you were dead; preferably sooner than later, but better late than never.”

Granted, this is not a well-thought-out reaction.  But it’s often the knee-jerk reaction that reveals a person’s true thoughts.

We happily continue our work because some of these students will take their own words to heart.  One day, they will know that killing is killing, whether later or sooner.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and a regular FAB contributor.

by Jacqueline Hawkins

Walk a mile in the shoes of the pre-born.  After all, you were pre-born too.

With tears in his eyes, a young man pointed to the sign with 24-week old babies—the unwanted child (an aborted corpse) and the wanted child (the premie in an ICU).  He was a student at Grand Valley State University.

“I was that baby,” he told CBR staff member Jane Bullington.  “I was born at 24½ weeks and spent 11 months in the hospital.”  Even today, his voice is raspy from the trachea tube that chafed his throat during those 11 months.  “That picture hits home.  Thank you for sharing my story.”

Because he was wanted, doctors worked hard to preserve his life.  But what if he had been unwanted?  The answer was all too obvious.  The pictures hit home when we can see ourselves as that unwanted child, weak and alone with nowhere to turn.

Not everyone can say that he was a black person or a Jew with a target on his back.  But everyone can honestly say he was in a group targeted for elimination.  Everyone was a pre-born baby.

Jacqueline Hawkins is a CBR Project Director and regular FAB contributor.

Philip Hamilton speaking to a pro-choice supporter at the GAP on Market Square in Knoxville, Tennessee.

by Philip Hamilton

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) recently displayed photos of aborted fetuses in downtown Knoxville, reminding passersby on Market Square that abortion decapitates and dismembers little human beings.  CBR’s display, known as the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP), exposes the devastating effects of a “woman’s right to choose” by focusing attention on what is actually being chosen.

The Market Square GAP was my first one as a new staffer for the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform.  During the course of the day, I encountered many people on both sides of the debate.

I spoke with a homeless couple who had lost custody of their children due to drug issues; they were staunchly pro-life.  They said that while their children did not have an ideal childhood, there is always the option of adoption.

Later, I got a pro-choice progressive to admit that late term abortions were morally wrong.  I told her about Planned Parenthood’s sale of fetal organs.  We discussed Virginia’s ultrasound law, which she supported because a woman should at least be able to see an ultrasound of the child before being able to kill him.  I told her that there should be at least a 24-hour waiting period after the ultrasound is done, so that women can have more time to make and informed choices between life or death for their children.  [The more time women have to think about their decision, the more likely they are to choose life.]  She supported a waiting period after I discussed the reasons why the a waiting period is actually “pro-woman.”  After seeing GAP, this progressive woman rejected some of the most extreme pro-abortion positions.  Not a complete conversion, but it’s a start, and not a bad one in only 15 minutes.

At the end of the day, I spoke with a woman with two young women in tow.  She supported our message, but ordered her children to look away from the pictures as we talked.  In spite of her belief that children should not look at aborted fetuses in a public square, she believed that teenagers and adults must see them before they can make an informed decision on the effects of “choice.”

We have a choice, too.  We have a choice whether to spend our time and treasure on winning hearts, changing minds, and saving lives.  Will you devote your time and treasure to stand for the right to life?

Photos awaken the moral conscience of our audience, opening their minds to understanding.

by Jane Bullington

Although words may say that abortion is evil, photos actually show just how evil abortion really is.  Big difference.

Made them look.  At our Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) at East Carolina University, a female student said it best, “I didn’t want to look but I had to look.”  She was pro-life but had never seen the evil on display.  Now, when a friend says, “I am pregnant,” she will be more likely to step forward to offer counsel and assistance.

“It (GAP) opened my eyes … ”

I have just changed my mind!  Another student started by saying abortion might be a viable choice for other women, “They are little human beings; I wouldn’t do it, but…”  A few minutes later, after seeing how slavery was a “choice” in the 1800’s, she exclaimed, “Well, when you put it like that, I have just changed my mind!  I understand what you are saying.”

I had no idea.  A male student expressed the sentiments of most college students when he said, “I had no idea this is what abortion was. They are so tiny, and that is a hand!”

College students are a microcosm of Americans in general.  The vast majority have never seen and do not want to see the gruesome reality of abortion.  We must confront that ignorance with real abortion pictures.

The need to see.  Another student said “It’s gruesome.  I didn’t know how developed it is so early.”  She went on to say, “People do need to see this; maybe they will make different decisions.”

Opened my eyes.  A communications major was quoted in the school paper, “It (GAP) opened my eyes to the situation; it gave viewers a different way to see it.  The pictures were graphic but sometimes it may take that to get a point across, especially for something as big as life.”  Common sense from a college student!

The smoking gun.  Do you see a common thread?  Disturbing photos of abortion victims pierce through the lies and deception to inform common sense and conscience.

Victim images have been the smoking gun for every successful social reform movement in our history.  We must continue to put them in front of Americans, over and over and over.

Jane Bullington is a CBR project director and a first-time FAB contributor.

by Maggie Egger

Michelle, co-president of SFL at OU, speaks with a fellow student during GAP.

During GAP at Oakland University (OU) in March, a young man approached our display, then quickly became very emotional.  He stepped back from the crowd and started yelling that women should have the choice to abort, because they could be in really terrible situations, and we can’t judge their particular circumstances.

Then it became personal.  He said when his mom was in college, with a promising career ahead of her, she became pregnant by a man who was not much more than a casual hook-up.  She dropped out of school and sacrificed her career to care for him, the unplanned pregnancy.  He said she was miserable because of it.  She married his father, but they went on to have an abusive and dysfunctional marriage and family.  By this point, the young man was crying and his voice started to shake.  He said that he wished that his mom had aborted him, because then maybe she would have had a chance at a better, happier life.

Then Michelle Anderson, co-president of OU Students for Life, stepped forward.  She said, “I’m sorry that you had to go through that as a kid, and that your mom had to go through that.  But I’m so glad she didn’t abort you.  I am so glad that you’re here today.  We value your life, no matter how it came to be.  You are valuable and you are loved.”  They continued talking quietly for a little while.  He calmed down significantly, and before he left I heard Michelle say, “Can I give you a hug?”  He accepted.

I observed several interesting things in this encounter.  First, Michelle’s demeanor was so calm and loving, it completely diffused a very emotionally charged situation.  Second, she didn’t try to debate abortion.  That’s not what this young man needed to hear at that moment.  Third, the reaction of the pro-abortion protesters was perhaps the most depressing and disturbing thing that I’ve seen on campus in a while.

The young man started off with the slogan of “personal choice” and of course the pro-abortion protesters cheered this.  However, when he said he wished his mother had aborted him, most of them took their reasoning to its logical conclusion and continued to agree with him.  In essence they were saying to him, “We wouldn’t care if you were dead.”  That’s the mindset that we encounter in people who have, for decades, reduced the preborn to mere clumps of cells, instead of whole, distinct, living, valuable, human persons.  And while that mindset is depressing, when it is juxtaposed with the pro-life view, the result can be encouraging.  After all, if everyone always valued all life from fertilization to natural death, it would be no big deal for Michelle to tell that young man that she values his life, not only in that moment, but from the very first moment of his existence.

Maggie Egger is a CBR Project Director in Virginia and a regular FAB(ulous) contributor.

A crowd gathers at Georgia Southern University.

At Georgia Southern, Bert had been speaking with CBR’s Maggie Egger for a while when he asked, “What if the woman is an addict, and she’s going to have a baby that’s really handicapped?”

Maggie trotted out the ever-present, imaginary, 2-year-old toddler.  This particular toddler was handicapped, to match the circumstance that Burt described.

Maggie asked, “Would it be OK to kill this toddler because of his handicap?”  Bert, of course, said not.

Then he revealed the reason he asked, “My sister is an addict and she’s pregnant right now.”

But now reflecting on what he had seen and heard, he said thoughtfully, “I think having this baby might help her.  I bet when people in her situation have abortions instead, it’s very easy for them just to go back to their old bad habits, and they’ll eventually kill themselves, slowly.”

Maggie talked about her experiences helping women in New York City, how some of them had huge obstacles to overcome.  But many of them were much more motivated to work once they realized that other people (to be specific, their own children) were counting on them.

[This all reminded us of the student at Middle Tennessee State whose mom was waiting tables when she got pregnant with him.  She didn’t abort (obviously, since the child was now grown up and speaking with us).  He said, “After she had me, she got serious about her life and went back to school.  She got her nursing degree and now she’s the head nurse at a hospital, making about 80 or 90 grand a year.”  He thought a minute and then said, “You know, I think if my mother had aborted me, she would still be back there waiting tables.”]

Bert thanked Maggie and walked on. GAP may have saved his little niece or nephew.  He or she wouldn’t be the first one.  Here is another (link).

“You’re really making me think about this.”

At Georgia Southern University (GSU), Okie told our Jackie Hawkins that his father had aided (forced?) the abortion of two older siblings, before raising three successful boys.

Okie looked both shocked and confused as he studied the pictures.  He was ambivalent about the concept of abortion … or at least he tried to be.  His blasé statements were interrupted with curses, betraying his shock at seeing abortion for the first time:

Well it should be legal. … Oh, s***!!!

I mean it’s just a choice. … What the f***!!!

The images were forcing their way into his conscience.

Okie is a black student, so Jackie told him about the abortion industry’s racist history.  He continued to look at the pictures with a confused and horrified expression.  He finally said, “You’re really making me think about this.”

Amen!  That’s what we came for!

With our prenatal development GAP sign, we show how a “clump of cells” is endowed with arms and legs and fingers and toes.  Some “clump of cells.”

by Kendra Wright

At Tennessee Tech, a Middle Eastern student told me that he is Muslim and in his country, killing the unborn is just like killing a born person.  But he knew very little about abortion.

He was very shocked to hear that 1.2 million die every year in this country from abortion.

He asked why people get abortions and if “not wanting” the child is a frequent justification.  I confirmed that this is often the case.

I started explaining the difference between a wanted child and an unwanted child.  If a child is wanted, we call it a baby.  If it is unwanted, we call it a clump of cells.

He was shocked.  “A clump of cells?!”

He could see right away that a baby is not just a clump of cells and calling it such is ridiculous.

Kendra Wright is a CBR project director and a regular FAB contributor.

Perpetrators of genocide always have their “reasons.”

by Kendra Wright

At UNC Wilmington, I asked a young man what he thought.  He immediately said he was pro-choice, that people have good reasons for having abortions.

I pointed out that even if I had good reasons for killing him, that wouldn’t make it right or acceptable.  He agreed.

We spoke a while.  After a lull in the conversation I asked him if he was still pro-choice.  He said yes and reverted to “people have good reasons” to abort.

I said, “Wait a minute, we already talked about this. Good reasons do not justify killing human beings.”  Again, he agreed.  Then he fell silent.

I asked again if he was still pro-choice, but this time, his mind was changing.  “Hmm, I don’t know,” he said.

He went on to say that people are ignorant about the science of human development and that he appreciated our use of graphic images.

Once he understood the implications of his pro-choice view he realized he couldn’t firmly hold it.  That is what pictures do: they neutralize the opposition, convert the neutral, activate the converted, and energize the active.

Kendra Wright is a CBR project director and a regular FAB contributor.

Ruth Rawlins of the UK traveled all the way to Michigan to show this professor how genocide perpetrators always claim they are making society better.

by Ruth Rawlins

Americans do almost everything on a much larger scale, so I wanted to see how the colonials defend unborn children!

I lead the CBR UK team in London, so I was thrilled to travel to the USofA (along with colleague Mark Williams) to take part in the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) at Oakland U and Grand Valley State U.

Before stepping foot on campus, we attended the Pro Life Training Academy (PLTA).  Although we had attended similar training before, the PLTA was extremely helpful.  The new material and interactive role-playing really brought the subject matter to life.  I learned new ways to answer the tough questions.

“She told me that she was still pro-choice, but wanted me to know that I had saved any of her future children, in that she would never have an abortion herself.”

The huge GAP display, the many CBR staff and volunteers, the pro-life students, the Truth Truck, and even the pro-abortion protesters created a real buzz on campus.  Students told us it was “the talk” all around the campus, not only in the hallways but in the classrooms as well.

I was particularly impressed with the warm and friendly approach of the GAP volunteers as they engaged the pro-abortion protesters.  I was pleasantly surprised by the openness of those they were engaging, enabling real conversations to flow, something that rarely happens in the UK with those who oppose us.  I witnessed many individuals soften through the way they were treated with such love and grace, which obviously counteracted the false preconceptions that pro-lifers are hard, cold, and angry!

I had many conversations, including one with a hardened professor who saw the strength and logic in our arguments that abortion is genocide, but stubbornly refused to accept the truth.  Thankfully, the students were much more intellectually honest.  Many young men and women listened, asked questions, and saw the terrible injustice in abortion.  Some of these also signed up to join the pro-life college group, to find out more, to get involved, and to make a difference.

The most significant conversation for me was with a young woman protesting against GAP.  This polite young lady came over to see what we had to say, asking all the questions she had, possibly trying to catch me out.  She also disclosed some personal situations from her past.  I sensed that she, like so many, didn’t have great self-worth.  If these students do not see their own lives as worth much, then what worth can they attribute to a so-called “bunch of cells” or a hidden being?

Pointing to the images, I answered her questions.  I also posed the question that “shouldn’t all human beings have worth?”  She agreed that they do.  She thanked me for the discussion, we hugged, and she walked away.  First thing the next morning, before the other pro-abortion protesters had come out, she walked over to speak to me.  She told me that she was still pro-choice, but wanted me to know that I had saved any of her future children, in that she would never have an abortion herself.

She said she had gone home and looked at the leaflet and thought how it is true that everyone should have worth, no matter their size.  I was so encouraged – especially to hear her say the word “worth”.  But I pressed her further about her friend’s children, “Aren’t they worth something, too?”  She agreed and said she would try to persuade them not to abort if they were in that situation.

She was deeply moved, although she did continue to the bitter end to stand in protest with her pro-choice friends with her new banner “pro-choice doesn’t mean pro-abortion”.  I too was deeply moved at her humility to share that change of heart with me.  And I believe that the good work God has started in her will continue until she can proudly stand in defense of all pre-born children.

The GAP project showed me the huge importance of reaching these young people at this critical college age, where they are typically open to debate, open to logic, soft-hearted, and not so set in their ways as older people can be.  It is vital that we continue to support educating and mobilizing this next generation to bring this genocide of the pre-born children to an end in their life-time.  And I am so encouraged that, with the continued growth of projects such as GAP, they will do just that.

Ruth Rawlins is on staff at the Centre for Bio-Ethical Reform UK and a first-time FAB contributor.

CBR’s Jackie Hawkins boldly showing the truth

by Kendra Wright

Sometimes people say we would be more effective if we “just passed out brochures.”  One student at East Carolina University (ECU) suggested we  “take it down a notch.”

Martin Luther King and William Wilberforce were not afraid to be bold …  and they didn’t conquer social injustice with informational brochures.  Several at ECU realized the effectiveness of our strategy and the need for boldness.

At ECU, one man stopped and faced the truth.  He exclaimed, “Wow, I had no idea this is what abortion was!  They are so tiny … and that is a hand!” He would not have known if we had not showed him.

Another student claimed that the display was “”too much.“” CBR’s Jane Bullington explained the history behind using pictures and how we focus on changing minds.  He said, “I see what you are doing and respect your right to do it.  If this had just been a brochure handed out, you and I wouldn’t be talking.”

A gentleman who regularly walks the ECU campus and prays scripture over it was so glad we were there.  He too had used abortion photos and had stood his ground when told to stop.  Other Christians and pro-lifers had told him to tamp it down, and he said NO!

CBR also says NO!  We will not stop giving the unborn a voice!

Kendra Wright is a CBR project director and a regular FAB contributor.

Becoming informed about abortion.

by Kendra Wright

When we showed abortion victim photos at Georgia Southern University, students wanted to know more.

One student cried out, “Please, somebody, tell me what this is all about!”  That is exactly what we want them to ask.  The pictures create opportunities to bring life-saving information to students who know very little about abortion.

Another student exclaimed, “I don’t know how abortions are done. Please tell me!”

Yet another wanted more information about the local pro-life pregnancy help center.

A biology student told us that she knew the facts about the preborn.  She said, “While this is hard to see, I am glad you are here.  People need to see and people need to know what the word means.”

That’s why you sent us … to give life-saving information to the people who need it most.  Please consider a generous investment in the lives of babies and moms.

Kendra Wright is a CBR project director and a regular FAB contributor.

Diana Jimenez speaks with a student at Cal State Long Beach.

The Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) returned to California State University Long Beach (CSULB) in April, hosted by the Catholic Newman Club.  What a rare thrill to work with a Christian group with the courage of their convictions!

Media coverage:

• CSULB Catholics bring pro-life advocates to campus
• Bio-Ethical Reform should not be allowed to display graphic photos for its anti-abortion campaign on campus
• Letter to the editor: Genocide Awareness Project
• Letter from the editor: the ‘Genocide Awareness Project’
• Letter to the editor: Ban the Abortion Fort

Notable responses:

“Our goal is to get them banned from campus because of how uncomfortable it makes people feel.” (Karina Sarabia, sophomore English major)  [Translation: “Messages and people who make me uncomfortable must be banned.”]

“Everyone has the right to demonstrate his or her beliefs, but … these pictures should not be displayed in the center of campus ever again.”  (Tuyen Dinh, junior journalism major)  [Translation: “The US Constitution is a living, breathing document, so we can make it mean whatever we want it to mean at the time.  My friends and I get to decide who has rights and who does not.”]

“[Their signs said], ‘Do not engage’ or ‘Want to help? Just walk away. Do not engage.’  Were they attempting to silence GAP because the pro-life side was actually making sense and was more compelling than theirs?”  (Meredith Amon, CSULB Sophomore)  [Answer:  Yes!]

“A university is a place for learning, so there is simply no excuse for the ignorance that was on display two weeks ago.”  (Ariana Sawyer, Opinions Editor)  [Translation: “Ignorance = any knowledge I wish to avoid.”]

“If the pictures are scarring and viewers are uncomfortable, wouldn’t your next thought be ‘why?’  Why the negative reactions?  There must be something disturbing about what is being photographed.  A picture is nothing but a neutral, unbiased portrayal of what is on the other side of the lens.”  (Dyanne Roper)