Fletcher, Jane and John
 

^{GAP Makes First Visit to South Dakota State University}

On September 19-20, we were hosted at South Dakota State University (SDSU) by the Jacks for Life. At SDSU, the term Jacks is short for Jackrabbits.

GAP is growing. The very best part of GAP is seeing more and more pro-lifers commit themselves to doing it. In 2005, CBR Southeast did 13 GAPs, more than half of all GAPs done nationwide. But other programs are sprouting and growing. The GAP program at CBR South Dakota (CBR-SD) is just one example. Over the summer, we assisted CBR-SD in designing their equipment and planning their procedures. In September, Jane and I traveled to South Dakota to help with their first deployment. We were joined by Mick Hunt of Life Advocates in Asheville.

People crowd around the GAP display, in big groups, in small groups, as couples, and as individuals. Many of them study the pictures in great detail. (Photos by Meredith Hunt)

The Dakotas are important. The voters in the Dakotas are conservative, but they know very little about abortion—three of four US senators from the Dakotas are pro-abortion—so it becomes imperative that we educate these voters.

	We love it when GAP protesters actually agree with us. By saying that “Women are people too!” they were equating the value of the mother with the value of the child. They were so overwhelmed with the truth that they forgot to deny it! (Photo by Meredith Hunt)

Wantedness, the new criterion. With abortion, the intended victim class consists of unwanted, unborn babies. Any children who meet the twin criteria of being both unwanted and unborn may legally be killed. Not all unwanted children may be killed; if they are unwanted but born, they may not be killed. Likewise, not all unborn children may be killed; if they are unborn but wanted by their respective mothers, they may not be killed (in most states). Recall that Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering Connor, his unborn child, because Conner was wanted by his mother. With that in mind, consider the words of one student at SDSU:

I’m pro-choice, but not as much as I was before this summer. I found a little reason to be less pro-choice. I read about a court case where a woman won the right to abort her child even though the husband wanted the baby. It was half his. That would make me mad.

In our culture, the unborn child has value only if his mother wants him. But in this student’s mind, the child should have value if he is wanted by either his mother or his father. I’m guessing he still agrees that the value of the unborn child should still determined by the criterion of wantedness. He just disagrees on whose “wanting” counts. Fascinating.

Wantedness, part 2. Another student was probably glad that mother’s wanting is what legally counts. He told us:

This really hits home. When my mother found out she was going to have me, she was 5 months pregnant. The first words out of my father’s mouth were, “I suppose it’s too late to have an abortion.”

Help and healing. A very somber male student confided to Angie Callahan, one of our GAP volunteers—incidentally, Angie was visibly pregnant at the time—that his old girlfriend had had an abortion. He felt sorry for it, because he knows it was wrong. Angie encouraged him to take what he had learned and help other people in his life to make the right decision. The young man walked around to the other side of the display, where he heard the same message of hope from Laci Griner, another GAP volunteer.

^{Coyotes and the Wind Both Howl at the University of South Dakota}

On September 21-22, we were hosted at the University of South Dakota (USD) by the Anti-Genocide Coalition.

Windy! In America, where I live, it’s not windy in the morning. The wind blows only in the afternoon. So, after we set up the GAP display, we always have several hours to tie it down so that it can withstand some pretty severe wind. In the wind, those GAP signs are like sails. But, apparently, when you leave America and go up north, things change. In addition to the heavy accents and weird behaviors of the people, the weather is also kind of wacky. In South Dakota, for example, they have wind in the morning. Before breakfast, even. Maybe it’s the proximity to Canada, I don’t know, but it ain’t natural. So, anyhow, we had to adapt. For the first time in the history of CBR-SE, we set up the GAP display right smack in the middle of a pretty stout wind. But thanks to some really good work by CBR volunteers Mick Hunt and Craig Fisher, we got the whole thing up without losing a single sign! Of course, as soon as the display was erected, the wind died down. Go figure.

GAP’s position right outside the student center at USD guaranteed constant pedestrian traffic on both days (Photo by Meredith Hunt). On the second day of GAP at USD, we drove this Reproductive “Choice” Campaign truck all over the campus. Many more people saw pictures of abortion as a result of our two-pronged attack against ignorance and denial.

Neutralizing the opposition. GAP is not going to convert a radical pro-abort into a pro-life activist in just a few minutes. But GAP affects every open-minded person who sees it. The pictures neutralize the opposition, convert the neutral, activate the converted, and energize the active. As an example of one pro-abort who was “neutralized,” he told us “I thought I was pro-choice; now I don’t know anymore.”

Activating the converted. Many “converted” (i.e., already pro-life) students were spurred to become active. More than fifty of them saw the GAP display and joined the USD pro-life group on campus. These “activated” students will be working to save lives and change hearts and minds for many years to come. With your help, we look forward to working with them!

To arrange your automatic monthly bank draft to support our work:

1. Download and print the Electronic Gift Transfer Authorization:
http://www.abortionno.org/...GiftTransferSE.pdf
2. Fill out the form.  Make sure you designate the gift for "CBR Southeast"
3. Enclose a voided check or deposit slip bearing the account number of the account we should draft.
4. Mail the Transfer Authorization form and a voided check (or deposit slip) to CBR Southeast, P.O. Box 20115, Knoxville, TN 37940.

Please pray that God will raise up others to help you support this life-saving work!