First of Two Downtown Tour Days Reaches Tens of Thousands

Posted by League Staff (July 12, 2010 at 6:31 pm)

Face the Truth signs over the Kennedy Expressway [Photo by Sam Scheidler]

Tens of thousands of Chicagoans saw graphic abortion pictures at three sites in the heart of the city today—images they carried back to their homes all throughout the six-county region. Thousands of long overdue conversations about abortion will take place this evening around the dinner table because of the Pro-Life Action League’s successful “Face the Truth” Tour today.

Kennedy Overpass Signs Reach 200 Cars Per Minute

The day began with a display of giant abortion signs on three overpasses on the Kennedy Expressway. Staff and volunteers clocked 200 cars a minute passing by in the north and south bound traffic from the overpasses on Washington Boulevard, Madison Street and Monroe Street. When you add passengers into the calculation, at least 25,000 people saw the pictures.

The Tour group was joined by special guest Fr. Scott Daniels, a dominican monk and Pastoral Associate of Priests for Life. Fr. Scott led the prayers concluding each site of the day.

Tour Meets Counter-Protesters at Daley Plaza

Face the Truth setup at Daley Plaza [Photo by Sam Scheidler]

For the mid-day site, the Tour visited Daley Plaza. Volunteers passed out hundreds of pieces of pro-life literature to the lunchtime crowd.

A small cluster of counter-protesters with crudely drawn, scarcely legible signs in support of abortion huddled on the corner of Washington Boulevard and Clark Street. Interactions between the two groups were peaceful.

Tour Director Eric Scheidler gave an interview to WBBM radio during the Daley Plaza stop which aired later in the day.

Liza Scheidler Shadows Pro-Choice Teens

Liza Scheidler with the teenage counter-protesters [Photo by Sam Scheidler]

Thousands of commuters on foot were reached during an extended stay at Madison Street and Wacker Drive—a Tour favorite. The counter-protesters followed the tour to this site including a group of teenage girls wearing black “Illinois Choice Action Team” t-shirts.

Tour staffer Liza Scheidler shadowed their group, neutralizing their hand-drawn “Honk for Choice” sign with a professionally printed “Honk for Life” sign.

Liza used her time in the enemy’s midst to talk with them about abortion. While they accused her of being brainwashed, she was astonished at their ignorance about abortion and the absurdity of their remarks.

For example, one girl said she didn’t consider her own self to be truly human until the time of her first memories. What sort of being she was, if not human, in the three years prior to her first memories, she didn’t say, nor whether it would have been just for her mother to have “aborted” her in that time.

Notably Positive Response from Passersby

Tour staff and volunteers agreed that comments from passersby were noticeably more positive than usual, especially at the Wacker and Madison site where the group often encounters greater hostility. Several passersby even stopped to offer donations.

The Truth Tour returns to downtown Chicago tomorrow with high hopes that the great weather and fantastic turnout will continue.

[Back to Top]

Posted in Face the Truth. Follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.