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Words Are Important Words are important. Words are powerful. The words we or the pro-abortion activists use very clearly and frequently shape the value system of those who listen. Their use of the word “pro-choice” is no accident. It’s the last major argument they have, that a woman has a right to choose. But every time we call them that, we reinforce their argument and help them kill babies. Therefore, we must call them pro-abortion. In addition, there are other more subtle words to use. For example, I suggest you not speak of them “doing” abortions, but rather of “committing” abortions. To do so immediately places a cloud or stigma over that abortion being done. Almost everyone speaks of experimenting on an embryo and then “destroying it”. Please, never use that phrase again. This human embryo is experimented upon and then he or she is “killed”. There is a dramatic difference in what you are saying. It’s biologically correct, and the impact on the listener should be very definite. I've compiled a list of suggestions that can frequently improve your ability to communicate the pro-life message. When needed, I’ve also provided specifics why one phrase is better than the other. You are already using some of them, while others you are not. But do, by all means, take them seriously. Lives hang in the balance, so we must do our level best to protect them.
You
Should Say: / You
Should Not Say:
Human embryo implants / Fertilized egg implants
Benefits of Adoption To
The Child There are many reasons for this. The removal
of the stigma of unwed motherhood in our society certainly was a big one. The
campaign by the pro-abortion industry to discredit adoption is also a large factor.
In addition, there are a lot of misconceptions out there, so let's look at a study
of the impact on adopted children. A study by the Search
Institute of over 700 families examined these children twelve to eighteen years
after they were born and placed for adoption. Here's what the study showed:
Another somewhat similar study compared adopted children with three other groups: children born out of wedlock and raised by a single mother; children raised by grandparents without their biologic parents; and children who live with both of their biologic parents. Among these three, how did the adopted children fare?
So, what’s the bottom-line here, friends? Adopted kids do very well. To
The Birth Mother There’s a study from Planned Parenthood’s Family Planning Perspectives of 270 unwed mothers. It reported that those young mothers who placed their babies for adoption had considerably more favorable social, economic and educational outcomes than did those who kept their babies and parented as single parents. Comparing the two groups, the study showed that those who placed their children for adoption were:
Here’s another study at Columbia University of over 400 pregnant teenagers. It checked them at six months and again at four years after giving birth. Again, those who placed their babies for adoption fared much better than single mothers who chose to parent their own child. In this study, mothers who placed their babies for adoption were:
In summary, unwed mothers who carried their babies
to term and placed them in loving arms for adoption scored higher, with greater
satisfaction and with greater social stability on almost every level, that is,
in comparison to the young mothers who kept their babies and proceeded to raise
them as single mothers. Remember, I'm not talking about every single mother. I'm talking about averages. Some single mothers do a bang-up job, and we owe them a great debt for what they can accomplish and do with their children. Cool, Hip Pro Life Education for Today's Youth Here’s
something new that’s never been done and is expected to fill a real need
in educating America’s youth! Truth
Unmasked is an interactive CD-ROM for the computer. It’s designed
exclusively for Generation Y. Our youth between the ages
of 8 and 23 make up Generation Y. There are 60 million of them, compared to only
16 million Generation X. Research shows that they are pro-life and support family
values. Life Issues Institute believes it's crucial that we build on this basic
pro-life foundation before they get to a university environment. That’s where
we lose many of them.
Teens
introduce the CD in video clips, as well as the five various educational segments.
The information is wrapped in music and graphics to appeal to Gen Y kids. It includes
a link to a major web site, designed exclusively for them, www.gravityteen.com.
This will greatly expand your ability to educate youth in your own community. Life Issues Institute has underwritten production and development of this high-tech brochure. Our goal is to get tens of thousands of these CDs into the hands of Gen Y. Use Truth Unmasked in various pro-life educational settings like: students, Right to Life chapter education, church youth groups, home schoolers, fair booths, crisis pregnancy counseling, Sunday school classes, pro-life events, health fairs and reaching youth in your local community. Ordering is simple. The cost is low enough to circulate thousands in your area. Packaging is intentionally generic so that you can promote it as a project of your local organization. Order your supply now and begin impacting the lives of thousands of America’s youth! (to order a copy of "Truth Unmasked" online, click here, or call us at 513.729.3600)
First Technology Symposium Slated
Life Issues Institute is proud to co-sponsor the first ever Pro-life Science and
Technology Symposium. It is designed to facilitate communication between professional
members of the pro-life community and provide a forum for technical presentation
and publication. The symposium theme is Technology and Hope – Pro-Life
Partners. The event will be held on May 1, 2004 in Dayton, Ohio. Technical
presentations of 30 minutes will be given in a variety of areas pertaining to
the life issues. See their web site for details: www.prolifetechnology.org The deadline for submission of abstracts has been extended
exclusively for the readers of Life Issues Connector. You have until December
1, 2003 to submit yours. Symposium papers are encouraged from technical and scientific professionals. Student papers for a poster session are also solicited. Abstracts are limited to 300 words and must be submitted on computer media to: Pro-Life Technology Symposium, PO Box 982, Sidney, OH 45365, abstracts@prolifetechnology.org, or via the Web. There’s a lot of false information out there on abortion. Help our youth find the truth!
Now you have a new, effective teaching tool! There are 60 million kids in Generation Y between the ages of 8-23. “Truth Unmasked” is an interactive CD-ROM designed by Life Issues Institute with graphics and music exclusively for these youth. Teens introduce the CD and its individual sections in video clips. Life Issues Institute has underwritten the development and promotional expenses. This means we're able to offer the CD for the cost of production – only $1.00 each – (plus shipping and handling) regardless of how many you order! Our goal? Get as many Truth Unmasked interactive CDs as possible into the hands of Gen Y kids. At this price you can afford to educate thousands of youth! (to order a copy of "Truth Unmasked" online, click here, or call us at 513.729.3600) "Chosen Children" Celebrates National Adoption Month It’s
a well-known alternative to abortion, but much less often used. Every year approximately
1.3 million single women become unexpectedly pregnant. Sadly, less than two percent
choose the loving option of adoption, while two million couples eagerly wait to
adopt children. In part, that’s why November is National
Adoption Month. It is our opportunity to spotlight adoption as a positive alternative
to abortion. It’s a time to stress the many blessings of adoption for both
the biological mother and adoptive family. Why such a
huge discrepancy between the number of babies placed for adoption and families
hoping to adopt? There are several reasons. Primarily,
it’s because the abortion industry makes no money when a woman chooses not
to have an abortion. Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report shows that
they aborted 79 babies for every adoption referral it made to an outside agency.
Their adoption referrals have declined by a huge seventy-three percent since 1997.
At the same time, the number of abortions they perform has increased over nineteen
percent. For the past three decades, Planned Parenthood
and the rest of the abortion industry have waged a quiet but successful war against
adoption. Polling shows that many women actually feel it is more compassionate
to have an abortion than to place their baby for adoption. The bleak statistics
on adoption are a tragic testimony to Planned Parenthood’s efforts. The
media have also played an active role in the way Americans look at adoption. Beth
M. Waggenspack is an associate professor in the Department of Communication Studies
at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She has written extensively
on adoption and the media. Her research shows that media representations of adoption
are negative by a ratio of five to one. She said they focus on the differences
that adoption creates instead of the many positives. Another
reason for adoption’s lackluster image is that many in the pro-life movement
have been affected by the abortion industry’s negative propaganda about adoption.
They may not be promoting it as an attractive and viable alternative to single
parenting. When counseling women in crisis, many well-intentioned volunteers in
women help centers may fail to fully explore adoption or even mention it as an
option. Part of the reason is a lack of information and comfort in presenting
this option. Life Issues Institute is working to counter
the trend away from adoption by providing a new educational tool. Brad Mattes,
host of Life Issues, our daily radio commentary, will host a special half-hour
radio program on adoption, called Chosen Children, to be aired in November. Brad will be joined by Steven Curtis Chapman, a well known
Christian music artist, who will share his own personal experience with adoption.
“Marie”, a young woman who placed her baby for adoption, will tell of
the many blessings both she and her baby have enjoyed. And much more! Chosen Children is available free to radio stations willing to air it. If you’d like to get this life-affirming program on in your community, please contact John Williamson at Ambassador Advertising at 714.738.1501 or jowilliamson@ambassadoradvertising.com
The True Meaning Behind Their Words You frequently
hear politicians, Planned Parenthood representatives and other members of the
abortion industry say, “I’m not pro-abortion, I’m pro-choice.”
Then they piously follow up with something like, “Nobody wants an abortion,
but women must have that choice.” On the surface,
this may seem like a reasonable thing to say. Unfortunately, everything isn’t
as it appears on the surface. I looked up the word “choice” in Webster’s
Dictionary. Here's part of what it said, “the act of choosing: a sufficient
number and variety to choose among. Selected with care. Suggests the opportunity
or privilege of choosing freely.” That begs the question; does the abortion
industry’s “pro-choice” mantra fit the accepted definition? Let’s
take a closer look. Those who advocate “choice”
hold the position that abortion should be legal throughout the entire nine months
of pregnancy – for virtually any reason. What’s the answer for a married
couple that feels the time isn’t just right for a baby? Abortion. What do
they say to the young college student who instinctively wants to keep her baby
but is being pressured by her boyfriend and parents? Abortion. How about for cosmetic,
financial or convenience reasons, or even for selecting the sex of the baby? The
answer is tragically the same – abortion. The abortion
industry and its activists have gone on record opposing even the most mainstream
legislative protections for unborn babies and their mothers. These laws enjoy
the support of 70% or more of Americans. “Choicers”
oppose laws that involve parents in the decision of their minor daughter to have
an abortion, whether it is permission or simple notification. They reject the
notion that women should be fully informed before undergoing an abortion. The
Laci Peterson law that would protect a woman’s unborn baby from criminal
attack is opposed as a backdoor attempt to outlaw all abortion. In
their minds, babies who manage to survive an abortion attempt are not even worthy
of legal protection. They oppose legislation protecting minor girls from being
transported across state lines for abortion without the parents’ consent.
These situations are frequently the result of a very young girl impregnated by
an adult male. Pro-abortion activists even want to force
health care providers to participate in abortion against their will. Choicers
oppose legislation that would protect the jobs of those who refuse to perform
or assist with the killing of unborn babies. Wouldn’t
those who are self-described pro-choice come to the aid of women forced to have
an abortion? Hardly. It is well documented that the government in China brutally
enforces a one-child program to combat their rising population. Women have been
forcibly dragged to abortion chambers in their ninth month of pregnancy. Many
men and women have been sterilized against their will. The lucky ones have fled
China, with some coming to America for asylum. The silence from so-called “pro-choice”
activists has been deafening. The abortion crowd even
opposes new technology that shines light on life in the womb. Recent developments
with three- and four-dimensional ultrasound shows unborn babies moving as early
as eight weeks and somersaulting at 12 weeks. Babies have even been observed smiling.
Choicers call these pictures “deeply disquieting” and ridicule pro-lifers
for “being intoxicated with evidence of a fetus’ humanity”. However, eager new parents have joyously gazed at these remarkable
images of their unborn children. The only imaginable reason to deny parents this
blissful experience is because a newfound knowledge of fetal life quickly erodes
the political advantage of the abortion crowd in the minds of a growing number
of Americans. Knowledge is the Achilles Heel of abortion, and Roe vs. Wade is
on a collision course with technology.
It’s clear that politicians, the abortion industry and others who promote abortion are not “pro-choice”. They are uncompromisingly and aggressively pro-abortion. It’s important that pro-lifers articulate this fact to the American public. STATES EXCHANGE Here’s a fun, new project that allows you to effectively promote adoption while thanking your area birthmothers for giving life to their babies. Bouquet of Love is the creation of Catholic Social Services’ Beginnings Adoption program in Dayton, Ohio.
The Dayton organization kicked off Bouquet of Love on Mother’s Day in May. So far, the display has traveled to over 19 different public locations throughout the Dayton area. Some of the places include: malls, churches, libraries, hospitals, a university, fair and park. The display will continue through November, which is National Adoption Month. The many people who see the bouquet are impacted with a positive and loving message about adoption. This project could also be used as an effective fund-raising event. Each petal could be sponsored by a donor who would send a financial gift to a crisis pregnancy center, right to life organization, etc. Laura Roesch, a counselor with Beginnings Adoption program, and her group feel it is vitally important to let birthmothers know how much society appreciates their incredible gift of love to childless couples. “This is one way we can show how much we love them, and how grateful we are that they chose adoption as a solution to a crisis pregnancy,” she said. If
you’d like more information regarding Bouquet of Love, contact Laura
at 937.223.7217, birthmoms@cssmv.org
or visit their web site at www.cssmv.org.
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Research
also shows that Gen Y kids are very computer literate and get much of their information
from the Internet and new technology. Therefore, we have designed an educational
tool in a venue Gen Y will be comfortable with and trust.
Let’s
revisit Webster’s definition of “choice”: “the act of choosing:
a sufficient number and variety to choose among. Selected with care. Suggests
the opportunity or privilege of choosing freely”. Does this describe
America’s so-called “pro-choice” movement? Ironically, it demonstrates
exactly what those who promote abortion do not stand for. They don’t
offer a variety of choices. They only offer death, and it’s often served
up with an overbearing attitude. It’s “my choice or no choice.”
Many times the choice isn’t selected with care or chosen freely. This has
become evident by the growing number of American women who say they were pressured
or forced into having abortions. Choicers have also revealed their support, by
default, of the oppressive forced-abortion Chinese program.
Participants
request a “petal packet” by mail, then they write a heartfelt message
of how adoption has touched their own life. Some simply thank the women who have
placed their babies into the waiting arms of adoptive parents. The writer remains
anonymous by giving a first name only. The petals are then returned and assembled
into larger-than-life bouquets for public display.