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News and commentary from the Pro-Life Action League
“Face the Truth” Tour in West Chicago, IL [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
The Pro-Life Action League’s 11th annual “Face the Truth” Tour is off to a great start with six sites in Chicago’s western suburbs. The Tour scored its first victory even before demonstrations began July 9.
Two days before the start of the Tour, City of West Chicago officials contacted the League’s attorneys at the Thomas More Society (TMS) and told them our planned Tour site—the first of the Tour—would be in violation of a new ordinance restricting public protest. The city had learned of the Tour from a fax sent by TMS to the chief of police, a courtesy extended to all chiefs of police of the cities and villages we visit each summer, informing them of our peaceful protest plans.
When it appeared West Chicago was willing to shut down the Tour and arrest participants, attorneys Thomas Brejcha and Peter Breen drew up a lawsuit to file in federal court. The threat of a costly court defeat quickly resolved the situation: the Tour would go on and West Chicago would amend their unconstitutional city codes.
The site in West Chicago at North Avenue and Rt. 59 came off smoothly with great weather, good turnout and cooperation from police.
West Chicago was the first of three new sites in the Tri-Cities area. The good weather and police cooperation continued at the next site at Randall Road and Rt. 38 in St. Charles. Reporters from the St. Charles Republican and the Sun-Times News Group came out to cover the Tour, and a police officer thanked Tour director Eric Scheidler for “making his day.”
After a fantastic lunch hosted by stalwart activist Nancy Weber and her daughters Dolores and Patty, the Tour moved on to its final site of the day at Randall Road and Fabyan Parkway in Batavia. During the site, Eric Scheidler gave an interview to Relevant Radio’s Drew Mariani on the importance of using graphic images to tear the mask off of “choice.” Response from the public was markedly more negative at this site, though many passersby waved and gave thumbs up. The Tour Crew was well satisfied with this smooth start and hoped it would be a sign of more success to come.
Majestic clouds bedecked the skies over Joliet during the second day of the Tour. The Tour visited sites in Joliet and Shorewood with over 70 participants between the three stops.
The first site, at Larkin and Jefferson in Joliet, drew a great crowd including many faithful activists that have been coming to Face the Truth Tours for years, as well as some new faces.
The second site at Black Road and Rt. 59 in Shorewood is a site where the Tour has encountered resistance from police and locals in the past. Contrary to those experiences, the site there ran smoothly with no interference. In fact, a passerby who had heard Eric’s interview yesterday on Relevant Radio stopped when she saw the Tour and donated $20 to the cause!
During the wonderful lunch provided by the pro-life parishioners of St. Mary Immaculate parish in Plainfield, Eric Scheidler called in as a guest on the massive “Ending Abortion” tele-seminar sharing with thousands of listeners how they can save babies outside abortion facilities through sidewalk counseling and prayer. The day finished out at the corner of Caton Farm Road and Rt. 59 in Joliet. At this site in previous years, passersby have thrown eggs, police have tried to shut down protests and counter-protesters have attempted to de-rail the League’s “Face the Truth” efforts.
True to form, the site was visited by two strange occurrences. Early in the stop, a woman stopped at a red light and, screaming and swearing, insisted that the baby Malachi sign a volunteer was holding was inaccurate. As she berated and cursed the volunteer, she said that abortion isn’t even legal past 16 weeks. This is, of course, wildly inaccurate. Abortion is legal in the U.S. through all 9 months of pregnancy for any reason.
Later on, a man stopped and was taking pictures of Tour volunteers holding signs. He told Tour staffer Jim Jansen that he had been offended by the signs before and that, today, his 8 year old son was in tears after seeing the signs. He decided that he had found a way to defeat the League: he would take pictures of our demonstration and sue us for “pornography.”
Eric Scheidler noticed the man when he saw him taking a picture of his 11 year-old daughter Claire and began to videotape him. When the man noticed he was being taped, he came across the street to yell at Eric, which he did for several minutes before stalking off yelling that he was going to list Eric personally in the lawsuit, which Eric encouraged him to do.
The site drew to a close without further incident or interference from police and marked a successful end to the first two days of the Tour.
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Me and my husband noticed your protest while driving down 59 on July 10 2010. I do believe in the freedom of speech and protest. However, I would like to know if your group thought about the folks who lost their babies naturally? Those pictures were so distasteful. I understand you may want to get your point across though shock value but please be more considerate of others through the images you display in public. Me and my husband lost our baby through miscarriage. Those awful pictures you displayed brought back heartache for the both us. I just ask your group to think about what you display and who it affects. There has got to be more clever ways to get your point across then displaying grotesque images.
Posted July 11, 2010 at 2:50 pm
On October 12th 1989 I held my beautiful newborn daughter in my arms. She was not breathing as she had died just prior to birth for no apparent reason ever identified. My wife had also come very close to death during this ordeal.
Then I see large pictures of dead fetuses by the side of the road – gee thanks!
At least people who have abortions are able to choose their desired outcome.
Posted July 12, 2010 at 1:55 am
Dear Amanda and Eric,
Thanks for taking the time to stop here and offer your comments about the Truth Tour display that you saw on Saturday.
I’m very sorry to hear about the babies that you lost. As a father myself, I can only imagine how painful that must be.
Your children were taken from you, and you feel the pain of their loss—and yet, more than 3,500 times a day, mothers and fathers make a deliberate choice to have their own unborn children aborted.
We’re trying to save those children.
Every year, we hear from women and men who saw those disturbing pictures and decided not to go through with an abortion. Sometimes they’re even on the way to the abortion appointment when they drive past the display and change their minds.
I can understand why a picture of a dead baby would trigger difficult memories for you. But these are not pictures of miscarriage or stillbirth. These are pictures of abortion.
There’s a good chance that the same pictures which reminded you of your lost children caused some other parents to choose not to have their children aborted. In that case, might not the pain you experienced be worth it?
Eric Scheidler
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action League
Posted July 12, 2010 at 7:57 pm
What other people choose to do within the law is none of your business. Who do you think you are? No-one is making you choose what you don’t want to do so why interfere in what others do choose to do.
Posted July 12, 2010 at 9:43 pm
“What other people choose to do within the law is none of your business. Who do you think you are? No-one is making you choose what you don’t want to do so why interfere in what others do choose to do.”
“law”, “interfere”:
Good law is due respect.
Bad law is to be ended.
“choose”:
Freedom is not the right to do what we want.
Freedom is the right to do what we ought.
Posted July 13, 2010 at 8:14 am
[...] our “Graphic Photos.” No need to worry, the Village is advising sensitive drivers (like Saturday’s anti-pornography vigilante) that they may wish to alter their route to avoid having their eyes [...]
Posted July 13, 2010 at 8:48 am
Eric—
I’m trying to my head around a man who describes the anguish with which he held his dead child in his arms justifying another parent’s choice to kill their child.
You of all people should recognize the inherent dignity and value of the life of an unborn child. You say that seeing those pictures brought back painful memories, but now it seems that what you’re really upset about is the pro-life position behind the display of those pictures.
Can the value of an unborn human life really depend entirely on the choice of another person? You valued your daughter and yet she died. Clearly, the fact that you valued her was not enough to keep her alive; why should the fact that another mother or father doesn’t value a child be enough for that child to be killed?
The value of every human person, born or unborn, does not—cannot—depend upon the will of another.
Eric Scheidler
Executive Director
Pro-Life Action League
Posted July 13, 2010 at 9:07 am
Basic truths Eric S and Jerry.
Abortion has always taken place and always will. It can either be done safely and legally or dangerously and making criminals of people.
Bad laws are the ones which are consistently broken by large numbers of people. That would be laws against abortion, every time.
Freedom to do what we ‘ought’ – Very few people ‘want’ an abortion, most see abortion as the least worse thing they ‘ought’ to do in their circumstances. Your ‘ought’ is personal opinion, same as theirs, except that yours is impacted by your beliefs.
I think religion is a waste of time and resources and our tax dollars, but I don’t ‘interfere’ because I see how much it can fill a gap in so many people’s lives. And there are those who have proclaimed that without it they would be murderers and rapists.
I grieve over my lost child because we chose to have her. She was wanted. So the whole situation is a heartfelt loss to me. Others have different circumstances.
Local deaths make headlines, distant deaths don’t. Like it or not, that is how most people approach abortion.
Posted July 13, 2010 at 5:39 pm
Abortion is not healthcare.
Contraception is not reproductive health.
Abortion kills the future of the human race.
Contraception kills the making of the future of the human race.
Contraception and abortion, being the destruction of the future of the human race, (in cataclysmic proportions), is the worst evil the world has ever known.
Posted July 13, 2010 at 9:28 pm
Lovely Jerry, a mouthful of subjective, opinionated diatribe underpinned by your belief in a magical sky fairy. Seriously, look at the acclamations you made.
Please have your faith and your beliefs. Just don’t expect me or anyone else to adhere to them.
Posted July 13, 2010 at 10:18 pm
Most everything you’ve just said is personal!
I stand by my impersonal statement!
Posted July 13, 2010 at 11:48 pm
Yes, because it described where your statements emanated from.
Your statements are not in the least bit impersonal Jerry because they are not objective, evidential or transhistorical. They are emotive, conjectural and biased.
Posted July 14, 2010 at 12:05 am
My statement, in its entirety, contains the concepts of abortion, healthcare, contraception, reproductive health, future, human race and the verbs is, kill, make.
————————————————————————————–
The response to it mentions subjectivism, objectivism, opinionated diatribe, underpinning, magic, sky fairy, evidence, transhistoricalism, emotions, conjecture, bias, emanation, personal and impersonal.
————————————————————————————–
The simple will know truth, and the learned will be left empty.
————————————————————————————–
Posted July 15, 2010 at 4:41 am
It certainly contains those concepts Jerry.
But your position on them and espousal of your views of them are based on ‘subjectivism, opinionated diatribe, underpinning, magic, sky fairy, transhistoricalism, emotions, conjecture, bias, emanation, personal.’ factors.
The simple cannot know the truth for they lack the acumen to recognize it. They bend to the will of others.
Posted July 15, 2010 at 6:02 pm
Abortion is not healthcare.
Contraception is not reproductive health.
Contraception is the root cause of abortion.
Abortion kills the future of the human race.
Contraception kills the making of the future of the human race.
Contraception and abortion, being the destruction of the future of the human race, (in cataclysmic proportions), is the worst evil the world has ever known.
Posted July 15, 2010 at 6:29 pm
Jerry, repeating your subjective, non-evidential assertions over and over again does not make them any truer.
Posted July 15, 2010 at 7:30 pm
The elementary will know truth and the learned will be sent away empty.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 6:52 am
abortion: “subjective” ???
killing the unborn: “non-evidential” ???
Posted July 16, 2010 at 7:16 am
Abortion is not healthcare. – subjective and opinionated
Contraception is not reproductive health. – subjective and opinionated
Contraception is the root cause of abortion. – subjective and opinionated, and wrong (non-evidential)
Abortion kills the future of the human race. – subjective and opinionated, and wrong
Contraception kills the making of the future of the human race. – subjective and opinionated, and wrong
Contraception and abortion, being the destruction of the future of the human race, (in cataclysmic proportions), is the worst evil the world has ever known. – emotive, subjective, opinionated and wrong
Posted July 16, 2010 at 5:27 pm
Considering the first:
Abortion is not healthcare.
A woman’s health is helped (cared for) by by various procedures.
A woman’s health is not cared for by abortion (not cared for…..it’s destroyed!)
Put negatively…..if abortion is healthcare……what is healthdestroy?
Posted July 16, 2010 at 8:50 pm
The second one is easier understood than abortion (because contraception is the root cause of abortion):
Contraception is not reproductive health.
Reproductive health is the woman reproducing. Contraception aborts the reproductive process!
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:00 pm
Jerry, there are medical circumstances where abortion is the least worse option – that makes it healthcare.
A woman who has neither the resources or personal acumen to raise a child which, in those circumstances, would be deleterious to her health – is making it healthcare.
Abortion does not destroy a woman’s health.
‘Healthdestroy’? – I dunno, a word you made up? Denial of the best option on religious grounds? Like when a woman bleeds to death needlessly because her faith rejects transfusions?
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:02 pm
“Jerry, there are medical circumstances where abortion is the least worse option – that makes it healthcare.”
Abortion is an act of man!……not an act of nature……HUGE disagreement as to and act of man (abortion) being superior to the act of nature (pregnancy).
And what makes your statements “right” but mine “emotive, subjective, opinionated and wrong”?
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:11 pm
Abortion is an act of man…….Abortion is man acting DIRECTLY OPPOSED to the act of nature!
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:15 pm
“Jerry, there are medical circumstances where abortion is the least worse option – that makes it healthcare.”
A said joke!…….My understanding is abortion is legal for ANY REASON or NO REASON AT ALL!
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:20 pm
Healthcare………Doesn’t this mean “care” of “health”???
and Healthdestroy…….means destruction of health.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:27 pm
My understanding is Roe vs. Wade made abortion LEGAL because a Woman has supreme, absolute sayso over what’s in her womb……..NOT because pregnancy “might” be “dangerous” to her.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:35 pm
“Like when a woman bleeds to death needlessly because her faith rejects transfusions?”
An analogy based on one’s religion! I am NOT arguing that Abortion is Not Healthcare because of religion!!!
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:46 pm
Is air conditioning not man over nature? What about petroleum products and the building of engines and machines? Medicine to cure illnesses? Spectacles? Caging wild animals?
Reality, history and social mores based on experience and democracy OR life as dictated by people who believe in something about which there is vast disagreement. Apart from that, your language, exclamation marks, upper case usage etc. But what it really boils down to is that I have no expectation that you should incorporate pre-marital relations, homosexuality or abortion into your life. Nor should you have the expectation that you can prevent those who wish to do so from incorporating these into their lives. It is these factors which make your stance emotive, subjective and opinionated. It is some of your factual claims which are wrong.
No-one has an abortion for fun or pleasure. They do so because they see it as the least worse option. And it will always take place.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:48 pm
“No-one has an abortion for fun or pleasure. They do so because they see it as the least worse option. And it will always take place.”
You hope that it is not for fun or pleasure……But the law says it is ‘on demand’……for any reason or no reason at all.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 9:59 pm
“Is air conditioning not man over nature? What about petroleum products and the building of engines and machines? Medicine to cure illnesses? Spectacles? Caging wild animals?”
All of above is man acting in ‘conformity’ with nature…….Abortion is man acting against nature…….understatement!……man destroying (killing) nature!
Posted July 16, 2010 at 10:03 pm
“Apart from that, your language, exclamation marks, upper case usage etc.”
“exclamation marks, upper case usage”…..guilty as stated…..(I regret it).
but my “language”……you don’t think my english is understandable?
Posted July 16, 2010 at 10:10 pm
“But what it really boils down to is that I have no expectation that you should incorporate pre-marital relations, homosexuality or abortion into your life. Nor should you have the expectation that you can prevent those who wish to do so from incorporating these into their lives.”
You (and me) do not live in a real world, each inhabited only by you in one and only by me in another………If that was the case, perhaps we could say ‘what we believe, want, goes’……but we don’t…..and as a result the very existence of some things are involved based on each person ‘judgments’……and when one believes one thing and another believes the opposite……both beliefs can not rein…..(for both to rein, is like ‘it’s allowed and it’s not allowed at the same time).
Truth exists…….only one belief is right! (when the very existence of subject is involved).
Posted July 16, 2010 at 10:27 pm
“It is some of your factual claims which are wrong.”
Which one(s)…..please state same.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 10:30 pm
But only those of abortion, contraception, healthcare, reproductive health.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 11:06 pm
Jerry, by language I meant the structural formation of your prose and the multiple postings. It’s all understandable. But it does come across as a little ‘shrill’ and in spurts. Some may call it tone. ‘Abortion is man acting against nature…….understatement!……man destroying (killing) nature!’ – you see, now this is emotive and subjective.
‘All of above is man acting in ‘conformity’ with nature…….’ – no, otherwise we would be walking or riding horses and dying of any disease or illness. If you claim that developing engines, flight and medicine are within ‘nature’ then so is contraception and abortion.
Someone having pre-marital sex, being gay or having an abortion does not directly impact on you. So why would you have the right to act against them? Those things are ‘right’ for some people but not ‘right’ for you. Believing in god and going to church may be ‘right’ for you but is not ‘right’ for others.
‘only one belief is right’ – this may prove to be true. I tell you what – I’ll stand over here and hold my breath until science answers all the questions while you stand over there and hold your breath until god appears and delivers judgement on all of us – lets see who turns blue first. If I’m wrong I’ll burn in hell for allowing gays, sex and abortion while you’ll go to heaven. Until then, you have no way of proving that your way is ‘right’. It is all conjecture and there is nothing that gives you the right to force your beliefs and your choices on to others.
‘Abortion destroys womens’ health’ is wrong as is ‘contraception aborts the reproductive process’.
Posted July 16, 2010 at 11:43 pm
“If you claim that developing engines, flight and medicine are within ‘nature’ then so is contraception and abortion.”
Difference between “augmenting”, “complimenting” nature and destroying nature.
Contraception aborts (destroys) reproductive process and abortion kills (destroys) conception.
Posted July 17, 2010 at 2:24 am
“Someone having pre-marital sex, being gay or having an abortion does not directly impact on you. So why would you have the right to act against them? Those things are ‘right’ for some people but not ‘right’ for you. Believing in god and going to church may be ‘right’ for you but is not ‘right’ for others.”
Wow! what happens if me robbing a bank for a million $, is right for me?
Posted July 17, 2010 at 2:29 am
‘Abortion destroys womens’ health’ is wrong as is ‘contraception aborts the reproductive process’.
If contraception is not “aborting the reproductive process”, I am not on the same planet as you!
Same for abortion, “killing what’s alive in the womb”.
Again, we don’t agree on the same most fundamental premises…….there is no way we can argue in truth!
Posted July 17, 2010 at 2:39 am
This site as I understand it has as its reason for existence to save babies from abortion.
As much as I love “philosophy”, I have no interest in discussing anything on this “blog” except contraception and abortion.
Amen
Posted July 17, 2010 at 2:50 am
Abortion is not healthcare.
Contraception is not reproductive health.
Contraception is the root cause of abortion.
Abortion kills the future of the human race.
Contraception kills the making of the future of the human race.
Contraception and abortion, being the destruction of the future of the human race, (in cataclysmic proportions), is the worst evil the world has ever known.
The elementary will know the truth and the learned will be sent away empty.
Posted July 17, 2010 at 2:56 am
‘Difference between “augmenting”, “complimenting” nature and destroying nature.’ – sunjective and opinionated. Again.
‘Wow! what happens if me robbing a bank for a million $, is right for me?’ – you’ll go to jail. It’s against the law. Homosexuality, sex outside of marriage and abortion aren’t.
‘If contraception is not “aborting the reproductive process”, I am not on the same planet as you!’ – I doubt you’re on the same planet as most people, contraception prevents conception between sperm and egg, it doesn’t abort anything.
‘there is no way we can argue in truth’ – not while everything you think, do and say is predicated on your belief in a god and the bible.
‘This site as I understand it has as its reason for existence to save babies from abortion.’ – well then I suggest a lot of time, effort and money could be better spent.
‘As much as I love “philosophy”’ – you can’t argue philosophy considering the baggage and pre-conceptions you bring to the debate.
Best Wishes
Posted July 17, 2010 at 3:06 am
And again – Jerry, repeating your subjective, non-evidential assertions over and over again does not make them any truer.
Posted July 17, 2010 at 3:07 am
“‘Wow! what happens if me robbing a bank for a million $, is right for me?’ – you’ll go to jail. It’s against the law. Homosexuality, sex outside of marriage and abortion aren’t.”
If its right for me, jail, law doesn’t change it being right for me.
Posted July 17, 2010 at 3:17 am
“I doubt you’re on the same planet as most people, contraception prevents conception between sperm and egg, it doesn’t abort anything.”
What?? abort—to stop, kill, eliminate……prevents conception….the same thing!
Posted July 17, 2010 at 3:20 am
” ‘This site as I understand it has as its reason for existence to save babies from abortion.’ – well then I suggest a lot of time, effort and money could be better spent.”
Its their time, effort and money Eric, not yours.
Posted July 17, 2010 at 3:23 am
Best Wishes to you too Eric.
Posted July 17, 2010 at 3:35 am
” ‘only one belief is right’ – this may prove to be true. I tell you what – I’ll stand over here and hold my breath until science answers all the questions while you stand over there and hold your breath until god appears and delivers judgement on all of us – lets see who turns blue first. If I’m wrong I’ll burn in hell for allowing gays, sex and abortion while you’ll go to heaven. Until then, you have no way of proving that your way is ‘right’. It is all conjecture and there is nothing that gives you the right to force your beliefs and your choices on to others. ”
And you believe you are in total control of at least a micro-second of time to live above out, yes?
Posted July 17, 2010 at 7:01 am
Robbing a bank may well be ‘right’ for you but you’ll still go to jail. That’s what society has determined.
Where did you get your meaning of the word ‘abort’ from? According to you I should be having sex with every woman I see, otherwise I am ‘preventing conception’.
Not all of it Jerry, there are also direct and indirect taxpayer funding for most of these organizations. And surely peoples’ time would be better spent helping the poor, sick and hungry.
No, I am not in total control. I am but a speck in the content of the universe. I have some choices and all the other things we know about ourselves but that’s it.
See if you can post a response in less than 4 or 5 comments Jerry.
Posted July 18, 2010 at 5:41 pm
” Where did you get your meaning of the word ‘abort’ from? According to you I should be having sex with every woman I see, otherwise I am ‘preventing conception’.”
preventing as in “conception does not happen”
preventing as in “reproductive process is aborted, conception does not happen”
Posted July 18, 2010 at 9:58 pm