 Dear Stuart,
When someone tries to say they are not pro-abortion, but pro-choice, I am quick to correct them and point out exactly what “choice” they are advocating for. So last month when I had the opportunity to view the pro-abortion perspective from within, I jumped at the chance.
The weekend of March 25, I went with fellow SFLA staffer Beth O’Malley and Lauren (a pro-life student from Virginia) to the 2013 National Young Feminists Leadership Conference to do some undercover research. It was truly sad to see a feminist movement brought so far down from what its founders like Alice Paul and Susan B. Anthony stood for. The suffragettes were fighting for true human equality, not for the right to have sex with whomever they wanted with no consequences, paid for by the government. They fought for the women’s right to vote, not free birth control and unrestricted abortion. In fact, Alice Paul once said, “Abortion is the ultimate exploitation of women.”
 One of the most shocking parts of the conference for me was the session entitled “This Clinic Stays Open: Extremist Threats Facing Clinics & Providers.” Sarah Shanks (Director of Abortion Access Fund, Inc. and Public Relations Coordinator for Dr. Leroy Carhart) praised the late-term abortionist Dr. Carhart for the “marvelous” care he gives to women. She sat at this conference singing praises to Dr. Carhart’s name and saying what a “caring” guy he was! She added as an afterthought that very sadly one of his patients had died a month earlier but that it was totally unrelated to the abortion.
Operation Rescue was able to obtain the death certificate, which stated otherwise. After her 33 week-old preborn baby Madison Leigh was killed by Dr. Carhart, 29 year-old Jennifer Morbelli was killed by “Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation … due to or as a consequence of Amniotic Fluid Embolism following Medical Termination of Pregnancy.” How can people say Carhart is a “caring” man when this “caring” man was nowhere to be found when Jennifer and her family tried to call him the morning she died? Would a “caring” man fail to respond to the hospital that admitted Jennifer when they were trying to get in touch with him?
Dr. Carhart’s actions bring to mind Susan B. Anthony’s words about abortion: “thrice guilty is he who, for selfish gratification, heedless of her prayers, indifferent to her fate, drove her to the desperation which impelled her to the crime." Dr. Carhart preys on desperate women for his own selfish profit, then leaves them (he literally leaves the state), indifferent to their fates.
There was also a part during the main session when they talked about the Radiance Foundation’s billboards (shout-out to Ryan Bomberger!) and everyone said, “Ewww!” at the thought of a man kissing a pregnant woman’s stomach.
Attending this conference has had me thinking about how we can improve as pro-lifers and what, if anything, we need to work on. Though, to be quite truthful, most of what the other side says we do is pure lies or gross over-exaggerations.
So, what can we work on as pro-lifers to continue to grow and not give those who are pro-abortion reason to smear us (though I am sure they will always find some way to do so)? Well, we can properly train on sidewalk counseling, for one. During the session I attended I watched as they did a practice session on ‘How to be an escort for a women’s clinic’ - or as my former mentor Kortney would phrase it ‘How to be a deathscort for an abortion mill’ (watch video here).
I learned from this session that there are still some pro-lifers who don’t know how to sidewalk counsel and fail to take turns in letting one person talk at a time so as not to sound like an angry mob. Thankfully, I know that most sidewalk counselors don’t yell things such as “Baby murderer!” anymore, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive to constantly work on ways to improve our outreach to the women walking into these abortion mills.
 I have been traveling across my region training students all over with new tactics to reach the women and men walking into these abortion mills. As the pro-life generation, we should be preparing and arming ourselves with all the tools needed to effectively reach out to these women. In February, University of Richmond Spiders for Life put the techniques I had taught them to use the weekend after my training and were thrilled to have their first baby save!
Students for Life of America has designated Saturday, April 20th, as the first National Abortion Facility Action Day. Get out there with your group to pray or sidewalk counsel outside your local abortion facility!
Are you looking to get trained or bring someone in to train a group of people on abortion mill outreach? I would love to come in and talk to your group about some new effective ways to sidewalk counsel. If you’re interested in setting that up, you can email me at smaher@studentsforlife.org. Let’s make sure that we’re reaching these women and men in the most effective way possible!
For Life,
Sarah Maher
Capital Area Regional Coordinator Students for Life of America
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