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 George Mason University. 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 George Mason campus. Thank you so much for your faithfulness.
GAP Comes “Home” to George Mason University
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A good location at the epicenter of campus guaranteed huge crowds both days.
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On October 1-2, 2003, we visited George Mason University (GMU) in Fairfax, Virginia. We were hosted at the GMU campus by the Students for Life and were greatly assisted by the pro-life community in Northern Virginia.
George Mason, forgotten Founder. George Mason is one of the most important figures in the history of the pro-life movement. Without Mason, projects like GAP and RCC might never have seen the light of day. Without Mason, the truth about abortion could have been banned from the public square. So, who was this guy? And why is he so important?
George Mason (1725-1792) is the father of our Bill of Rights, which protects important rights including the right of free speech. In 1776, Mason helped author Virginia’s Declaration of Rights, a document that articulated key ideas that Thomas Jefferson would later incorporate into our Declaration of Independence. For example, Mason’s Declaration of Rights asserted that all men have certain inherent rights, including the rights to life and liberty. In 1787, Mason was a key figure in drafting the United States Constitution, but he refused to sign it because it contained no bill of rights. As a leader of the AntiFederalists, his objections led to the first ten amendments, which were ratified in 1791. Thank you, George Mason! We praise God for raising up men like you at just the right moment in history! How appropriate that we should bring GAP to the great university named in your honor!
Great location; big crowds. We felt God’s blessing throughout this trip. We were especially grateful for outstanding sites on which to erect the GAP display. At GMU, we were at the pedestrian crossroads of the campus, which guaranteed huge crowds on both days of our visit.
Whistles? Several times during our visit, a few of the most radical pro-aborts walked up to the GAP display and blew whistles. It reminded me of Forrest Gump, because I kept thinking, “GAP is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re gonna get.” I couldn’t figure out what was going on. It looked like they were performing some sort of pagan ritual. Perhaps they were attempting to drive away evil spirits.
Denial and confusion. When the pro-aborts see how successful GAP is at changing hearts and minds—or perhaps when they find themselves questioning their own long-held beliefs—the are often compelled to respond. Unfortunately for them, their responses demonstrate denial and confusion at a magnitude that simply boggles the imagination.
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Experienced CBR staffers like Stephanie Gray (top) and Jane Bullington (bottom) use pictures to show students that abortion is a horrible act of violence.
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GAP was apparently the main topic of conversation at the Fall meeting of the "Women’s Studies" faculty. In a letter to The Broadside (the student newspaper), Dr. Debra Bergoffen accused CBR of “blatant disregard for truth.” Her evidence? She found no indication “that the women whose human tissues are so boldly displayed gave their permission for such use.” Notice that Dr. Bergoffen starts with the fallacious assumption that an unborn child is part of a woman’s “human tissues.” Dr. Bergoffen should take a remedial course in freshman biology. She might learn that, from the moment of conception, the embryo/fetus is entirely distinct from either parent. The baby has his own genetic code and it’s own blood type. Half the time, the baby is male. Does Dr. Bergoffen truly believe that male tissues, composed of male cells with male chromosomes, can be part of a female’s body?
Dr. Bergoffen went on to accuse CBR of “willful deception” because our name “neither denotes nor connotes the clear purpose of limiting women’s reproductive freedoms.” Three observations: First, our website clearly states for all to see that CBR was established to protect the unborn. Second, this is just one more example of a pro-abort trying to change the subject, to move the debate away from the real issue, which is the truth about abortion and what it does. Third, we would hasten to point out that the name of Dr. Bergoffen’s “Women’s Studies” department neither denotes nor connotes its clear purpose of preserving a system that kills more than 0.6 million female babies every year.
You really do know. In addition to being one of our favorite people, Stephanie Gray is one of our most effective GAP debaters. She asked one student what he thought about abortion. He said, “I don't know.” She pointed to the first-trimester aborted baby on one of the signs and said, “When you see this picture, what do you think?” He said, “I don't know.” A long conversation ensued. Frequently, he resorted to his fall-back position, “I don't know.” Finally he said, “That's pretty convincing … (silence) … but I don't know.” Just before he left, Stephanie pointed to one of the signs and said, “I want you to take a look at that sign up there. The next time you talk about abortion, I want you to remember that picture and what abortion does to the unborn child, so that next time you think about abortion, you tell yourself that you really do know.”
Assertions do not equal reality. We cannot help but be amused at the assertions that GAP somehow prevents or degrades the debate about abortion. For example, Cailan Nichols wrote a column in The Broadside in which she claimed that the pictures “threaten to break down … the scholarly and rational exchange of ideas.” She went on to say that GAP “did not put forth valid debate,” and that GAP is “an example of a failure to inspire intellectual debate.” Apparently, Ms. Nichols is living in a dream world. In the real world, hundreds of people participated in the debates all around the display. Many of these students bore witness of the reality that Ms. Nichols was desperate to ignore. For example, Steve (no last name) told us, “This presentation has generated so much dialogue on campus that my class has decided to continue to discuss it through next week.” Another student, a 30-something male, was personally moved by the pictures, “These pictures make your point. The comparison is very effective. You should keep this up. I never thought about abortion this way before today.” Setareh told us, “I think the pictures are very thought-provoking.” The real problem is not that Ms. Nichols somehow missed the debate. The real problem is that her denial about the reality of abortion caused her to withdraw from the debate and pretend that it just didn’t exist. It was her way of avoiding the issue.
Understanding freedom of speech. For whatever faults we may find in the media—in the way they treat the issue of abortion—it is the campus media who are often first to understand and articulate the concept of free speech. John Marcario, Acting Editor-in-Chief of The Broadside, wrote
[Many] faculty members and students were appalled at the anti-abortion displays outside the Johnson Center last week. The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, the group that organized the event, did an outstanding job of attracting attention to the abortion issue.
Mason is a public university and we have the right to hear opposing views on all issues. The Center asked to rent a space on campus, and they were approved. They went about making their point in a professional manner.
The screaming pictures could be seen from Enterprise to Robinson, and voices shouting or protesting could be heard echoing around the display area, but this all made the event unique. What makes one person’s belief right and another person’s wrong? The beauty of attending a state university is that we are not sheltered from seeing displays and protests such as the ones last week. Were the picture used hideous? Yes. Did tensions at times reach a dangerous pitch? Yes. At any time was there a riot, or individuals fighting one another? No.
The fact that the display was extremely provocative does not by itself make the Center’s campaign a bad one. Frankly, it is through provocation that intense thought often comes to many people.
This could be considered a peaceful protest and therefore it was a successful one. Attention has been drawn to the issue and large groups were exposed to a controversial issue. Everything the Center could have hoped for seems to have occurred, except the fact that people still do not understand First Amendment rights.
Thanks to all of you! Another testimony to the impact of GAP is the response of students who are out there on the front lines of the cultural war. These kids truly are in the trenches. They fight the good fight against left-wing ideology every single day, and without a lot of help from the rest of us. When we do show up, they really do appreciate it. And they appreciate your financial sacrifices that make it all possible. Caleb Shoenhard, President of GMU Students for Life wrote to us after GAP:
GAP was a huge success and its impact is still being felt. I was extremely impressed by the professionalism and organization of GAP. These two factors made the experience much smoother than I had anticipated.
During the two days that GAP was on campus, students at GMU had their eyes opened! Events like GAP are not common at GMU, so when GAP was on campus, it was like a breath of fresh air. There were dozens of debates surrounding the display and the apathy of the student body about abortion disappeared. Thousands of students were influenced during those two days.
Not only did GAP spark debate on campus, it launched our student pro-life group, GMU Students for Life. We received numerous compliments and many students indicated an interest in our group. GAP gave us an opportunity to let the student body know who we were and what we were doing. As a result of GAP, our group garnered over 50 students who wanted to join. With these amazing numbers, GMU Students for Life is now building on the success of GAP and continuing our work at GMU.
What a pleasure to work with young men and women like Caleb. People like him truly do give me hope for the future of our Nation. You can read the entire text of his letter by going to www.abortionno.org/GAP/gmusfl.html.
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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