Dear Partners and Friends,
We are continuing our coverage of the Fall 2003 GAP Tour of the Mid-Atlantic Region. This month, we will describe our trip to the University of Maryland. We thank God for all the victories He has given us through your generosity. We pray that He continues his work in the hearts and minds of students on the Maryland campus. Thank you so much for your faithfulness.
GAP Brings Pro-Life Terps Out of Their Shells at the U of Maryland
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Our location on Hornbake Plaza guaranteed a steady flow of traffic for both days at the U of Maryland.
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On September 29-30, 2003, we visited the University of Maryland (UMd) in College Park. We were hosted at the UMd campus by the Students for Life, and we were greatly assisted in our visit by Defend Life of Baltimore. Defend Life is one of a growing number of pro-life groups that understand that we cannot hope to change people’s hearts and minds until we use pictures to break through the layers of denial that prevent clear thinking. Thank you, Defend Life!!!!
The preparations (Part II). Last month, we discussed some of the preparations we make for every GAP tour. We described our process for (1) contacting local pro-lifers for funding and support, and (2) securing a student host for our visit. Once this has been done, I (Fletcher) can schedule a face-to-face meeting with university administrators. Typically, I try to meet with them 2 weeks before we arrive on campus. This is an important time to convey how serious we are about protecting our First Amendment right to do this work. It is also a time for building trust, to help them see that we want to work with them to accomplish mutual goals: safety for students, safety for us, and surprises for nobody.
The “offensiveness” tax. Often, universities will insist that we pay for the police officers necessary to deter pro-abort misconduct. Such a tax is unconstitutional for at least two reasons. First, some rights are so fundamental, they cannot be denied based on a person’s inability to pay. That is why poll taxes were found unconstitutional several decades ago. Free speech rights are also fundamental rights that cannot be denied to those unable to pay. Second, the offensiveness tax is never assessed equally to everyone. When the speech is not offensive, no police are needed, so no tax is assessed. An example of an inoffensive message might be “Be kind to your dog.” Even offensive speech is not taxed if the authorities perceive that offended parties would not react with violence. An example of this kind of message might be, “Wear these condoms and have sex like a rabbit,” because the people offended by this message are primarily Christians, for whom violence is prohibited by their faith.
The confrontation. At this point in the process, different universities react differently. [Please keep in mind that we are still talking about our general experience in arranging GAP at different schools, not our specific experience at UMd.] Some universities accept our position and we move on. Others continue to insist that we pay this fee. At that point, we have three choices: (1) pay the fee, (2) cancel the GAP event, or (3) threaten to sue. We choose Door No. 3!!! I am not a lawyer (nor do I play one on TV), but I have become quite skilled at threatening to haul these people into Federal court, while making that threat in a polite and deferential way. When that doesn’t work, we have our lawyers contact their lawyers and explain to them the facts of life. Then their lawyers convince the administrators that we are serious and we will win. At that point, they have to back down and observe our First Amendment rights.
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Big crowds gathered on all sides of the display for both days we were on campus. Praise God for lives saved and hearts and minds changed!
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Great location; great weather. Now, back to the University of Maryland! We were located on the Hornbake Plaza, which is the perfect location and size for GAP. We were near the Student Center, the Library, the main bus stop, and many other major centers of pedestrian traffic. Big crowds continually gathered around the display. The weather was perfect: sunny, warm, and no wind.
Another life saved! We hadn’t even finished setting our display up on the first day, when a female passerby was overheard saying to her friend, “Wow! I’m sure not having that abortion now!”
Please keep me ignorant! This month’s Please-Don’t-Show-Me-the-Truth Quote-of-the-Month Award goes to Hosein Kafimosavi, a freshman biology major who said, “I don’t think they should prove a point like this.” I suppose it would be OK if we didn’t prove the point, so Mr. Kafimosavi could remain in a state of blissful ignorance! For his contribution, Mr. Kafimosavi wins a bucket of sand!!!
Quiet campus. We were in a high-traffic area on a major state university located inside the DC Beltway with 25,000 students, so we expected large and vocal opposition. But it was not to be. Only four people protested GAP at all. Each of them came at a different time, did something different, and stayed only a short time. After an hour or so, each of them left, apparently because nobody joined any of their protests.
Dehumanizing the victim. The Diamondback, the UMd student paper, ran an op-ed piece by Stuart McPhail, who repeated the same tactic taken by all perpetrators of genocide—dehumanize the victim. He compared the human embryo to a cancer. He asserted that it is irrational, unjust, and even tyrannical to suggest that rights of personhood be granted based on the humanity of the unborn child. Instead, he asserted that personhood should be based on a human being’s capacity for “self-realization.” But Mr. McPhail never explains why capacity for "self-realization" is better than any of the other form and function criteria we might use. And how much “self-realization” is enough? Does a newborn child have enough “self-realization?” Does an unborn child have enough “self-realization” just before birth? What about one month before birth? Two months? What about a premature baby that is already born? Does that baby have enough “self-realization?” Is it so irrational to believe that rights of personhood should be granted to all human beings, regardless of race, color, creed, national origin, or level of “self-realization?”
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The debate spilled over to the Students for Life table near the exhibit. Many new members joined the group.
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More converts! GAP changes hearts and minds like nothing else we have ever done. The pictures had a dramatic impact on Julie Hall, a freshman at UMd, “I thought I was pro-choice. But once I saw the pictures, I know it is a savage act and is wrong. I am not a person who cries a lot, but those pictures make me cry.” Tulse Tonwe is another freshman who was moved by the pictures, “This is different from what I have been taught (that it is not a baby). I am now going to have to think about this more.” Freshmen were not the only ones affected. One professor said, “I am certainly against abortion now!”
Like clockwork. Our ability to organize and perform this work in a highly professional way is not lost on those who see our work. One UMd administrator said, “(CBR) could teach a seminar on how to conduct a campus demonstration.” The police captain in charge of our visit piled on, “You are the most organized outside group we have ever had on this campus. We wish every group were as organized as you.”
Lasting impact. Sierra Correa, the President of Students for Life, was lavish in her praise,
Our group cannot express enough gratitude to CBR for making this happen on our own campus, where the debate about abortion has been lively ever since, where our own members are even more passionate about this issue than before, and where the facts about abortion have finally begun to force their way through the filters that prevent so many from knowing the truth.
Finally, I want to thank you so much for pushing us to make sure we got GAP to come to our school. I don't want to think about where our group, or our whole campus, would be without it.
Thank you, Sierra! And thank all of you for making all of this possible through your sacrificial giving to CBR! (By the way, anybody who is not giving needs to get on the stick!!!!!)
Our work can continue only if you help! To make an on-line donation to our work:
https://id28.securedata.net/abortionno/CBRSoutheast/creditcards.html
To arrange your automatic monthly bank draft to support our work:
1. Download and print the Electronic Gift Transfer Authorization:
http://www.abortionno.org/pdf/ElectronicGiftTransferSE.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!
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