Dear Partners and Friends,
This month we cover our GAP trip to the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK) and North Carolina State University (NCSU). This was the third time we had gone to UTK and the second time to NCSU. Thank you for your support, because God makes our work possible through your generosity..
Fletcher and Jane
CBR Models GAP at the University of Tennessee
On April 13-14, we returned to the U of Tennessee at Knoxville (UTK). This was the second consecutive semester for GAP at UTK. Multiple deployments of the pictures through both GAP and RCC will have a much greater impact than just one GAP every 4 years or so. We hope this will be a model for others. Indeed, the pro-life students at the U of Maryland are exhibiting GAP every semester—on their own, without CBR’s help—and we pray others will soon follow.
Rain, rain, go away! It rained for all of Day 1. We might have postponed GAP for a day or so, but it was near the end of the semester, we were scheduled to be out of town the next week, and the weather forecast called for only a 50% chance of rain. Actually, it only rained on a small part of East Tennessee, much less than 50%; but on the weather map, the yellow (heavy rainfall) area looked suspiciously like the city limits of Knoxville, annexations and all. Fortunately, the rain did go away and let the sun shine on Day 2!
Success! There is no doubt that the pictures are doing their work. One student walked hurriedly past the display. When offered a brochure, he snapped, “You don’t have to give me anything. Those pictures are burned into my brain!” Just as we planned.
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Left: Students pass the display during a class change. Right: Students walk around the display, gazing intently at each photo panel. |
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Media coverage. The UT Daily Beacon published two news stories and three letters about GAP. Numerous references, all negative, dotted subsequent editorials against fundamentalist, right-wing, fascist—oh, well, you get the idea. On the bright side, the actual news stories about GAP were balanced and fairly well written.
Endorsement (of sorts). Although she deplored our use of pictures and our comparison of abortion to the Holocaust, Johanna Stiebert, assistant professor of Hebrew studies, conceded that the pictures could be successful in influencing people’s opinion on abortion. She was quoted in the Daily Beacon, “I can see why it’s very effective. Any human being with a shred of compassion and dignity about themselves will be horrified by these images.” Indeed.
More success. We spoke with an English teacher who assigned her class to write a paper about GAP. When she saw GAP in the Fall, the pictures had solidified her personal opposition to abortion. Now, she wanted to know more about the genocide comparison. At first, she had been offended, but now she was open to the idea. This kind of incremental response convinces us that pro-lifers (e.g., many of you reading this article) should take GAP to their local campuses every semester.
GAP Returns to the North Carolina State Brickyard
On April 4-5, we were hosted at the North Carolina State University (NCSU) by the NCSU Students for Life. Special thanks to Catherine Baron, and Betty Rogosich for organizing local community support.
Great location. The Brickyard is the venue for almost every public display at NCSU. It’s a big place right in the middle of campus, and we shared it with several other events, including a housing fair and several student political campaigns. We especially appreciated one candidate who distributed free hot dogs right next to our display! He not only brought us lots of students, he even fed some of us!
Although we were quite happy with our place on the Brickyard, one student actually recommended a different location. He said, “Excuse me, but you can take this whole exhibit and stick it up your @$$!” Ouch!
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Left: The Brickyard is a busy place. Right: Students in line for hot dogs study the GAP signs. |
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Great editorial. The Technician, the student paper, did not write a news story about GAP. However, Daniel Underwood, one of their columnists, did write an opinion piece. Obviously, we speak and write about abortion and about GAP all the time. But Mr. Underwood’s column is as clear and compelling as anything we’ve written in quite a while:
When I saw the bloody remains of a nine-week-old aborted fetus, the abortion controversy was forever settled in my mind. I saw what looked like fully formed hands and feet smaller than the tip of an eraser, and an open-mouthed, punctured skull ...
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Betty Rogosich, Director of Birthchoice in Raleigh, is able to explain first-hand how abortion hurts women. We are thankful that many crisis pregnancy counselors are beginning to understand the importance of abortion pictures. |
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But what is absent from the discussion? Not a pesky tax-code, or a bunch of hairy statistics, but the fetus itself—and I use the word “itself” not without the feeling of spiders crawling up and down my spine.
Before we decide what can and cannot be done with the fetus, we are naturally confronted with the task of determining “what” exactly the fetus is. And this is the case with all legislation. If a man claims a tree to be standing on his property and wants to cut it down, but a neighbor disputes the claim and wishes the tree left untouched, they had better look into the tree itself. For if they discover that the tree is actually a burly man in dire need of a haircut, then he, too, might wish to have a word with the magistrate.
You can read Mr. Underwood’s entire column by going to http://www4.ncsu.edu/~djunderw/columns/2005-04-05.html.
The pictures are the difference. Juwanda had been debating abortion with a pro-choice friend for the entire year, apparently with little effect. After seeing GAP, however, the friend immediately told Juwanda that she had changed her mind. Perhaps every pro-lifer, including those of you reading this newsletter, should carry abortion pictures with you at all times. You order them at www.abortionno.org/store.html in either business-card size or in 8.5x11 glossy prints.
Thank you! Thanks to all of you for your prayers and financial support. You are making a huge difference in the lives of others, including the preborn and the already born!
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!
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