Missy Smith
Way back in 1992 a young man from Southern Indiana called our office to see if we had some graphic pictures of aborted babies he could use as part of his campaign for the U.S. Congress.
Young Mike Bailey had first thought of running for state office, but then he found out that if he ran for Federal office he could put on any ad campaign he wanted, excluding only materials that were pornographic. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) found this to be a federal candidate’s right, which persists today.
Bailey’s Campaign Educated Indiana
So Mike decided to run as a candidate for U.S. Congress, and was putting together campaign advertising to run on television stations in areas that had to use these ads to promote his campaign. These TV ads would be run in Indianapolis, Evansville, Louisville and Cincinnati, and be seen by everyone in those areas.
Now Mike needed graphics to place in every TV ad he used. So he came to us. We gave him what he needed.
When the ads began, heads of TV stations in all the large cities tried everything they could to avoid showing them. But the law prevailed. Bailey received enormous coverage in newspapers, radio, interviews on talk shows. I even joined Mike on the Jerry Springer Show in Cincinnati, embarrassing as that was.
The campaign worked, and Bailey not only educated a large number of voters in Southern Indiana and the states adjoining, but he beat his opponent in the primary. While he did not go on to win the House, he had done a wonderful thing in making abortion an issue in the campaign.
Washington DC Candidate Repeats the Strategy
Roll forward to 2010, eighteen years later, and you will find a candidate for the House in Washington DC, Missy Smith, who is adopting the same policy.
As pro-life blogger Jill Stanek has reported, Missy is showing what abortion really is on her campaign ads in the DC area. Her ads are compelling and informative.
Missy’s ads (which you can see on Jill’s blog) are extremely graphic and boldly convey the truth of abortion to thousands of people, and not only in the DC area. As controversy grows over this creative pro-life tactic, Americans across the country are hearing about—and seeing—these ads.
Like Mike Bailey so many years ago, Missy is setting an example of what it means to be a true, dynamic advocate for the unborn.
As a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization, the Pro-Life Action League does not endorse candidates for political office. The purpose of this article is to discuss a creative effort to expose the public to graphic abortion pictures, by way of political ads. It should not be construed as an endorsement of any candidate.
