This Baby is Alive!
Staring Death in the Eye
A few of my colleagues in the pro-life movement have at times made the blanket generalization that showing pictures of aborted babies "doesn't work" or is "counterproductive." They say people already know abortion is evil, and seeing the photos will only turn them away from our movement. Nor, they say, will the photos persuade someone not to have an abortion.
May I present some evidence to the contrary. These are three of hundreds of emails I receive from people who see these photos at www.priestsforlife.org/images.
1. "Up until I visited this site I had been prochoice. I thought that I would do an Internet search to see exactly what an abortion entails. After seeing the images on your site, there was no decision to be made. I figured that whatever hardships having a baby at this time would bring me would be far easier than living with the guilt I knew I would never rid myself of if I was to get an abortion. The pictures had such a powerful effect on me. They helped me to be strong and realize that this pregnancy was made possible by God and if it wasn't meant to be, that was His choice, not mine."
2. "Hello, I am a sixteen-year-old female and I just finished looking at the pictures on your site and reading what actually happens during an abortion. Up until five minutes ago I was extremely pro-choice. Because of your site, I realize that abortion is not a choice about a woman's body...it is the LIFE of a BABY. Never before did I realize how truly horrible and careless abortion really is. Maybe it's because I'd never seen the pictures, or read the actual descriptions of abortion. Maybe I was too afraid to know the truth. But within 3 minutes of viewing your website, my face was covered in tears. Those pictures just really hurt to look at. I cannot express how grateful I am that you have shown me the truth about abortion. God bless you."
3. "Thank you so much for your website. I am 14 weeks pregnant and my partner wants me to have an abortion. ... so I thought about it. I got on the internet trying to see how much it cost and I was lead to your site. I wanted to see what happens and what they look like at 14 weeks. Thanks to your site. I am not going to do it. I am unable to commit murder. That is like killing my own children at their age. This is a remarkable website. Everyone should see this site before they consider having an abortion. Everyone needs to see this to determine if they are able to live with themselves after doing this".
Many other messages like these are posted at www.priestsforlife.org/images.
Now if someone prefers not to use the photos, that's fine. Many others will, and there are many other kinds of pro-life work to go around. But please don't say the photos don't work. They certainly do.
This column can be found online at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2008/08-08-25-staring-death-in-the-eye.htm
Fr. Frank's columns can be heard via podcast. See www.priestsforlife.org/podcast for more details.
Fr.. Frank's columns can be listened to in MP3 format at www.priestsforlife.org/columns/columns2008/index.htm
