. . . because action speaks louder than words.
League history, NOW v. Scheidler, Action News, Joe Scheidler, League staff
Q & A on abortion, the unborn child, where we stand on the issues and more
Helping abortion-bound women choose life for their babies
Unmasking the truth about abortion in the public square
Our youth outreach, raising up a new generation of pro-life leaders
Abortion industry converts tell the inside story
News and commentary from the Pro-Life Action League
News and commentary from the Pro-Life Action League
When I wrote last month about the very successful TeenSpeak 2010 conference, I mentioned that this year’s conference included a talk titled, “The Anatomy of a Pro-Life T-Shirt,” given by League staffer Matt Yonke.
In his presentation, Matt dissected the most common styles of pro-life T-shirts, showing several examples of each. His talk served as a great jumping-off point for TeenSpeak’s first-ever Pro-Life T-Shirt Workshop.
Attendees were divided into 20 groups, and each group was given a T-shirt, a set of fabric markers, and 45 minutes to create their own pro-life T-shirt. To ramp up the competition factor, the teams were told that the winning design would be professionally printed and sold on ChristianShirts.net, and that each member of the winning team would receive one.
The competition proved tough, but in the end the judges selected the design (pictured above) by Angela Habisohn, Hannah McHugh, Mattie VanderBleek, Charlotte Seidel, and Michelle Ryan as the winner.
Joe Scheidler (center) with former abortion providers (from left) Marian Johnston-Loehner, Luhra Tivis, Judith Fetrow and Joan Appleton in 1993
Carol Everett. Anthony Levatino. Beverly McMillan. Joan Appleton. Luhra Tivis. McArthur Hill.
What do these people have in common?
All of them used to work in the abortion industry. Doctors Levatino, McMillan, and Hill actually performed abortions themselves, Joan Appleton was an abortion clinic nurse, Carol Everett was an abortion clinic administrator, and Luhra Tivis was a medical receptionist for late-term abortionist George Tiller.
Along with many other former abortion providers, they have all spoken out publicly about how they came to be pro-life.
I thought about these former-abortion-industry-workers-turned-pro-lifers when I realized today, March 10, is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers.
What can we as pro-lifers do to counter this “Appreciation Day”? Lots of things, I suppose, but the first thing that comes to my mind is prayer.
Last week, authorities made a shocking discovery while investigating a West Philadelphia abortion clinic run by Kermit Gosnell where a woman died following an abortion in November 2009.
In Gosnell’s office, they found two dozen frozen fetuses.
On Sunday, Gosnell’s license was suspended, with the suspension order detailing “deplorable and unsanitary conditions” that made his practice “an immediate and clear danger to the public health and safety.”
Today, on the pro-choice blog RH Reality Check, Rachel Larris has a post on Gosnell and the woman who died at his facility in November (the woman is identified by the Philadelphia Inquirer as Karnamaya Mongar).
Who does Larris blame for the woman’s death?
Why, pro-lifers, of course.
Population Research Institute has just released the second installment in its “Overpopulation Is a Myth” series— a slickly produced video that explains in easy-to-understand terms why underpopulation is the real looming demographic disaster.
I first saw this video earlier this week, and about an hour later I received an e-mail from a journalist in the UK asking for a brief comment for a story he was writing about a young British woman who, based on a belief that having children would have damaging effects on the quality of life of people already living, had decided to be sterilized.
I was edified to learn that a determined group of pro-life activists were on hand in Brookline, Massachusetts on Tuesday to protest the opening of the Women’s Health Services abortion clinic.
Every indication is that these pro-lifers are in it for the long haul. Commented activist Rita Russo:
We’re not going to go away. It would be invisible if we weren’t here. We don’t want it to be invisible.
It would be hard to add anything to Russo’s words, for they so incisively capture what pro-life activism is all about.
Abortion workers hate the sight of pro-lifers outside their clinics—whether protesting, sidewalk counseling, or praying—because they know firsthand that our witnessing causes so many of their would-be clients to change their minds and instead choose life for their babies.
If you asked 100 people at random if they believed abstinence education is effective, most of them would probably say no.
Most would probably say that teaching abstinence is “unrealistic”, that it doesn’t work, and that schools should instead be teaching so-called “comprehensive” sex education.
A big part of the reason why so many people believe abstinence education is ineffective is because its opponents—not the least of which are the major players in the abortion industry and other pro-abortion choice organizations—have been relentlessly tub-thumping for years trying to convince people that it is so, such that it’s now one of those things that “everybody knows”.
And most mainstream media outlets have carried water for them every step of the way.
So ingrained in popular consciousness is this idea that when the Washington Post reported on a “landmark” study released Monday that demonstrated remarkable comparative effectiveness of abstinence education vs. so-called “comprehensive” sex education, they couldn’t bring themselves to fully admit what the research showed.
Lila Rose speaking at TeenSpeak 2010 [Photo by Sam Scheidler]
“This was amazing!” “Completely eye opening and inspiring.” “Super fun!” “Best ever!”
These are just some of the comments that sum up the reaction of the 130 teens and adults who attended TeenSpeak 2010 on January 30. This was not only the largest crowd we’ve ever had at a TeenSpeak conference, but without a doubt the most enthusiastic as well.
The day began with a compelling talk by Live Action’s Lila Rose titled “Undercover at Planned Parenthood”.
In her talk, Lila told about her experiences at Planned Parenthood abortion clinics across the country, where time after time, posing as a 13-year old impregnated by her much-older boyfriend, she has exposed statutory rape cover-up at Planned Parenthood.
The audience found Lila’s talk very eye-opening and inspiring. Finoy Lukose, a sophomore at St. Ignatius College Prep, commented, “This talk really opened my eyes to what truly goes on at an abortion clinic, something I was unfamiliar with.” And Alexie Gillespie, a junior at Lake Zurich High School, noted, “I was so inspired by Lila by start a pro-life group in my own community.”
Matt Yonke alluded yesterday to the controversy surrounding the pro-life ad featuring Tim Tebow and his mother that is set to air during the Super Bowl.
Among the pro-choice groups working itself into a lather over the ad is the National Organization for Women, whose president, Terry O’Neill, noted that she has “respect for the private choices made by women such as Pam Tebow”, but has “condemned the planned ad as ‘extraordinarily offensive and demeaning.’”
She further commented:
That’s not being respectful of other people’s lives. It is offensive to hold one way out as being a superior way over everybody else’s. [emphasis added]
Yes, because everyone knows it’s “offensive” when someone has the audacity to opine that civilization is superior to barbarism. Or that perseverance is superior to sloth. Or that freedom is superior to slavery.
I’m gratified that we’ve been hearing these past few weeks from pro-lifers across the country who are looking to meet up with League staff at the March for Life in Washington, DC. Indeed, one of the things I most look forward to about the March is reconnecting with old pro-life friends—and making new ones.
If you’ll be there, join us! PLAL staff members will be joining pro-lifers of all ages as we march together with the League’s youth outreach, Generations for Life, and other members of Youth Life Alliance in a show of unity of among national pro-life youth organizations.
Here are the details:
I hope you’ll be able to join us at the March! But even if you can’t make it, you can still take part in the Virtual March for Life, which Matt Yonke wrote about yesterday.
Now that 2010 is here, you can surely expect to soon witness one of the harbingers of primary season—namely, candidates knocking on your door to ask for your vote.
I’m a big believer in the Boy Scout motto—”Be prepared.” As such, I think it’s wise for us to know what to say when this situation arises so we can ascertain whether a candidate is legitimately pro-life.
This leads me to share an exchange I had with a would-be candidate a few months ago.
One morning, as I was waiting to catch the train on my way to work, I was approached by a man who was planning to run for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Roland Burris. He asked if I would sign a petition to get his name on the primary ballot.