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News and commentary from the Pro-Life Action League
Claire W holds a picture of baby Malachi on one of the League's Face the Truth Tours. [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
Missionaries to the Preborn, Pastor Matt Trewhella’s organization headquartered in Milwaukee was featured in the Wisconsin Christian News newspaper this week. Rob Pue’s article did a terrific job explaining the importance of displaying graphic abortion photos in public—something the League picked up from the Missionaries.
Briefly, here’s what the article says:
When Pastor Matt Trewhella founded the ministry in 1988 (then called Rescue Operation Milwaukee), the city of Milwaukee had eight abortion clinics. Today, only two remain and statistics show that more Americans than ever are decidedly pro-life.
But it has not been an easy mission. Pastor Matt attended college with a major in Christian Missions. While still a student, he learned that there are over 400 different “missions” in America today but not one targeted the preborn child as a “people group.” In the early days, he assumed that most clergy would support an effort to save the lives of helpless babies, but soon learned that most ministers opposed him, and most Christians did not even believe that preborn children were human beings.
Fortunately, Trewhella persevered and has been responsible for saving many, many babies in his lifetime.
About their Truth Tours, Pue writes,
Indeed a picture is worth a thousand words. Upon viewing photos of an aborted baby, most people are rightly shaken, upset, angry and deeply disturbed. While often times that anger is misplaced, and directed toward the messengers rather than the perpetrators of the crime, the Missionaries’ ministry does accomplish one thing very well: it jolts the sleeping public out of their apathy and forces them to confront the taboo topic head on.
Volunteers and counselors are always on hand during “tour stops” to distribute educational materials which shine the light of truth on abortion—a subject most would prefer not to think about at all.
Also using graphic photos of abortion to make the pro-life message heard loud and clear is the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. CBR has launched a campaign in the legislative districts of five members of the House of Representatives who they believe are vulnerable to switching their votes on the healthcare bill—they voted in favor of Stupak the first time, but CBR fears they are vulnerable to voting against it when the House and Senate versions of the bill are reconciled.
If you live in one of the following districts, keep your eyes open for their ads: Dan Boren (OK), Chris Carney (PA), Kathy Dahlkemper (PA), Steve Driehaus (OH), and Gene Taylor (MS).
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All murders are a matter of the murderer’s choice, and abortion is no different. But abortion is a particularly vicious form of murder, as the choice is made by the mother along with her accomplices– the very people who should be protecting and nourishing the baby in the first place rather than destroying that tiny new life. The pictures of what abortion actually is are vital and lifesaving because when the mother has a shred of conscience left they remind her of her guilt in advance, so she can avoid it. The pictures of vivisected and disimembered babies not only save lives today, they save lives tomorrow. They show children and teenagers how horrific a crime abortion is, so that they know well before they ever think of abortion how it is too horrible for decent civilized people to even contemplate. In reality, these pictures should be on billboards in front of every abortion mill and every school in the nation. Our taxes should be going to publicize what abortion actually is, not helping selfish psychopaths butcher their young.
Posted January 6, 2010 at 7:53 pm
I am honored to be associated with the Pro-Life Action League! It is the only pro-life organization that stands bodly for the rights of the unborn! The graphic images of aborted infants really touch the hearts and consciousness of people when they are displayed! If we are going to stand for the rights of the unborn, doing it boldly is the best way!
I suggest smaller graphic images be made for pro-life individuals that can be carried by each person. Since the Bubble Zone Ordinance passed here in Illinois we need to keep being visible. I feel that this would be another way to reach ladies going into the abortion centers. We don’t have to approach them just stand with the graphic images big enough for them to see! Please let me know what you think about this idea! I will be glad to purchase some large graphic images! May God continue blessing the Pro-Life Action League!
Ernestine Standberry aka Ms.”E”, Dir. of the
International Prolife Federation
p.s. Please let me know about the above request asap! Thank you!
Email: Loudproductions5050@yahoo.com
Posted January 7, 2010 at 8:32 am
Randy Crawford writes: “Our taxes should be going to publicize what abortion actually is, not helping selfish psychopaths butcher their young.”
Dear Randy,
I hope things are going well for you in Iowa.
I couldn’t agree with you more about the use of our tax dollars, especially right now with the abortion industry trying to engineer a bailout through the health care legislation being cobbled together behind closed doors.
But I’m troubled by your characterization of abortion-bound mothers as “selfish psychopaths.” I don’t think that’s helpful for reaching out to them with the compassionate help they need.
Certainly many of them are selfishly motivated, but many of them desperately believe they have no choice but abortion. Some are even being coerced into abortion.
But whatever their motivation or spiritual state, we have to love them. That’s they only way to save them, and I believe the way we speak of the abortion-bound mother should reflect that at all times.
Thanks for listening.
—Eric
Posted January 7, 2010 at 12:40 pm
We seem to have a difference of opinion in our pro-life group here about having signs of aborted babies shown to young children. We didn’t do it at our last rally in front of our provincial government building because some of us didn’t want it . My question is, exactly how harmful is it for young children (as old as 10) to see this?
Posted January 10, 2010 at 4:02 pm
Hi Carole — I’ll direct you to the “Answering Common Objections“section of our site where we deal with this question in detail.
But briefly, I’d say that it typically has very little impact on children other than making them feel negatively about abortion, which is of course the intent of the signs.
I think the most important thing to bear in mind is that children’s reactions to disturbing things like “Face the Truth” signs is most strongly guided by their parents. If parents can calmly tell their children that that is a picture of a baby who was hurt very badly and that we want to stop people from hurting babies that way, they can usually agree and move on (they often have a strong sense of identification with the plight of the babies, having so recently been one).
If, on the other hand, the parent starts yelling and losing their composure about the images, the child quickly senses that something is wrong and becomes upset as well.
I hope those thoughts are helpful!
Matt Yonke
Posted January 11, 2010 at 10:45 am
What do children think of violence? It is half of what makes Halloween so fun for kids. The other half is candy, and the kids actively seek out both halves of Halloween about equally. Similarly, the signs showing dead babies are educational, and scary, and ultimately well-tolerated. They grab the attention of little kids more than adults because kids are open to the truth, and are not jaded by exposure to the endless lies of abortionists which they will encounter later in life. The younger children are when they learn what abortion really is, the more they are likely to incorporate the information and overcome their hormones when they grow up. This allows them to be more responsible throughout life, especially about killing helpless children. Addendum: As Eric Scheidler says, you can love the (non)mothers who kill their kids all you want, but the FACT is, regardless of motive, that butchering one’s own kids is both selfish and psychopathic. The sub-maternal killers have their excuses and rationalizations, as did Hitler, Stalin, or any other murderer. The babies who are killed suffer a lot more than the sub-mothers, no matter how selfishly and hypocritically with crocodile tears (or not) they weep about their guilt (fictitious or real) after the fact. Some women even roam the countryside, pretending to be post-abortive “victims” who need sympathy, housing, and money, money, money. The choice made is the mother’s, not the baby’s. Excusing or soft peddling the murderous choice for one instance has a ripple effect, and when she recounts it to other women they find “escape” excuses for killing their kids, knowing in advance they will also likely find a soft shoulder to cry on. And, likely a panhandling opportunity as well. Abortion is a crime, not an excuse for sympathy, and the victims know this better than anyone who is alive. Don’t believe me? Watch real abortions for yourselves, and learn the real ugly facts from the real ugly world we live in. Or die in. Sticking one’s head in the sand only obstructs one’s education, and ultimately allows the crime of abortion to continue– along with the panhandling.
Posted February 2, 2010 at 1:20 pm