Volume 18, Number 4 July-August 2008
"Is This What You Mean?" Project: The Abortion Procedure Revealed – A Challenge to Politicians and Voters
Priests for Life has launched a special project called "Is This What You Mean?" It aims to:
1) Reveal the nature of the abortion procedure to the public, and
2) Challenge public officials and candidates who support the legality of abortion to admit what abortion is.
The project is explained in its entirety at www.priestsforlife.org/action/abortion-procedure-revealed.htm.
The project makes use of You Tube videos at www.YouTube.com/frfrankpavone, and of quotes from abortionists, found on the project page at www.priestsforlife.org/action/abortion-procedure-revealed.htm.
We are asking people to
a) view the videos we made about the abortion procedure;
b) read the quotes we provide from abortionists, and
c) use that information on blogs, in editorials, at town hall meetings, and in public and private sessions with abortion supporters to ask them, "When you say the word "abortion," is this what you mean?"
This effort, in which anyone can participate, draws a line in the sand and gives candidates and office-holders alike this challenge:
If you're going to take a position on abortion, then you're going to have to come clean about what it is. We are no longer going to let you obscure or trivialize the issue. Whether people agree with you or not, you owe it to them to be honest about what you're talking about.
Therefore we issue this simple call to honesty: We will describe abortion to you, and you tell us if that's what you're talking about.
That's it, pure and simple. This is not a debate, nor a threat. It's a call to clarity, a demand for honesty. That is not partisan, nor is it unreasonable; it is not fanatical or inappropriate in any way. Nor is this about religion or morality.
We just want to make sure that we're hearing you. When you say "abortion," we just want to make sure we're both talking about the same thing.
The full URL of the page describing this project is www.priestsforlife.org/action/abortion-procedure-revealed.htm
The specific locations of the videos are as follows:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=us_y9GP_-DA - Dismemberment D&E Procedure
www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBOAPleF1t0 - Suction Abortion Procedure
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDpcj1DUcTw - Prostaglandin Procedure
How can you help with this project?
1) Alert people to the project, the videos, and the quotes, by
· Emailing your friends, family, everyone in your address book.
· Going into chat rooms, blogs, message boards, etc…
· If you have your own website or blog, announce the project there and provide links.
· Writing letters to the editor.
· Speaking out in town meetings or other public venues.
2) Help drive the number of views of the You Tube videos into the hundreds of thousands in a short time, so that we can make the video a news story. Seek young people who will volunteer time to reference it all over the internet.
3) Using the videos and quotes from the abortionists, diagrams, ask "pro-choice" politicians (whether they are candidates or already in public office) if this is what they mean when they say "abortion." Yes or no. Ask it publicly. Ask it repeatedly. Ask it in all the ways mentioned above – emails, letters, internet etc….. Those whose support they are seeking deserve to know.
4) We have additional resources that reveal the nature of the abortion procedure and can also be used for this project. They are a DVD called "The Procedure," and two diagrams of the most common procedures.
Fr. Frank Pavone
