From: Jim Fritz
To: All Pro-Lifers
Subject: Gains in the Pro-Life Movement
It is sometimes discouraging being out on
the sidewalks in front of the abortuary when we still see mothers (and fathers)
dragging their children in to have abortions; a man pulling and pushing his
girlfriend in to kill their child; people threatening us with violence, using
profanity and even spitting upon us; and a general decline in civility all
around us. This is in addition to the weather on the streets where it always seems
hotter or colder than anyplace else.
But take heart, we are winning! The
Weekly Standard (11/7/11) just published an article by Fred
Barnes informing us of the many unheralded gains of the pro-life movement. He
writes, “That the pro-life movement is bigger is a given. It’s also younger,
increasingly entrepreneurial, more strategic in its thinking, better organized,
tougher in dealing with allies and enemies alike, almost wildly ambitious, and
more relentless than ever.”
One other factor has helped the
pro-lifers: they have captured the high moral ground, chiefly thanks to
advances in the quality of sonograms. Once fuzzy, sonograms now provide a
high-resolution picture of the unborn child in the womb. Fetuses have become
babies.
Barnes cites some statistics such as in
2011 alone, 24 states have enacted 32 new restrictions on abortion; the GOP,
the nation’s leading pro-life party, is gaining ground rapidly; the under-30
crowd tends to see abortion as a human rights violation; thus their resistance
to abortion is increasing. The March for Life crowd is growing younger; there
has been an explosive growth in the number of pregnancy centers (there are now
three times as many pregnancy centers as abortuaries). Students for Life
headed by Kristen Hawkins, has branched out and expanded enormously. The
organization, 40 Days for Life, started just a few years ago outside a single
abortuary. There are now hundreds of these groups.
Barnes also takes note of some of the
current heroes in the pro-life movement. One of these is Lila Rose. Rose became
a pro-life activist at age 14, formed Live Actions, which produced
hidden-camera videos exposing Planned Parenthood’s eagerness to offer abortions
to underage girls while avoiding their obligations to report pregnancies resulting
from statutory rape. Rose posed as a teenage prostitute at an abortuary in in New Jersey where the manager told her to lie about
her age. Rose got it all on video. Cliff Sterns, a GOP Representative, launched
a congressional probe into Planned Parenthood.
Some of the key organizations in the
pro-life movement Barnes identified are the Susan B. Anthony List, which in
2010 helped unseat 15 of 20 pro-abort Democrats; National Right to Life (NRL),
which is pushing for fetal pain laws to restrict abortion and Americans United
for Life (AUL), seeking to overturn Roe v Wade.
We at the Hagerstown
Abortuary are especially fortunate as we are close to the Baltimore and DC
areas where Defend Life, operated by Jack Ames, promotes 15 Face the Truth
demonstrations every year including one in Hagerstown. Ames also brings in inspiring pro-life speakers such as Lila Rose. We have the Hope Pregnancy Center next to the abortuary, founded and
operated by Tina Malone who is always ready to motivate us with a smile, a
high-five, or a hug.
We have been blessed to have Dick Retta,
whose gifts have made him a true hero in the pro-life movement. He has
taught almost all of us who do sidewalk counseling at Hagerstown the secrets of being a good counselor.
Dick has saved over 1,300 babies from being aborted – by himself. He has
enormous talent, dedication and tenacity.
In addition to Dick Retta, we have access
to Missy Smith, founder of WAKEUP, and a number of other excellent sidewalk
counselors in the Washington DC area. Missy helped develop some of our
flyers and even obtained a photo of one of the abortionists by waiting in the
parking lot behind the abortuary until he arrived.
Those of us who live in West Virginia are especially fortunate as we can
participate in West
Virginians for
Life (WVFL), a chapter of NRL. WVFL is led by Dr. Wanda Franz. Franz was
president of the NRL for many years. She recently ‘retired’ and being from West Virginia, brought her years of experience and
connections to her new position. Kristen Hawkins, head of Students for Life, is
also a native of West Virginia. We were able to have both of them as
key speakers at separate Respect Life Dinners in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia.
We are hoping to have two new chapter
leaders for the NRL. Tina Malone, of the Hope Pregnancy Center, plans to take over the Washington County Chapter. Felicia Stevenson who
founded a pregnancy center in Martinsburg is also
planning to become a NRL chapter leader for Berkeley County, West Virginia.
We, the sidewalk counselors in Hagerstown, recently celebrated our five years of
counseling as a group effort started by myself and Charlie Heise in October 2006. We have saved 240 babies we know of and
possibly as many as 1,400 others who have been turned away by the presence of
so many prayer warriors, counselors and pro-life signs in front of the
abortuary (This is a statistical percentage at most abortuaries.) We are in
front of the abortuary three days a week for up to six hours per day. There
have been numerous conversions to our faith, too, as Angela Carroll, Gail Hoffman and others minister to those in
need of Christ as they pass us on the sidewalks at the abortuary.
Also worth mentioning is the fact we have
founded two Christian radio stations in the area. One is in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia, and the other is in Hancock, Maryland. They transmit at 107.9 FM and
96.3 FM respectively. They broadcast at least a dozen pro-life messages a day,
with some hour-long programming on the topic.
Many gains have been made in the pro-life
movement in the past few years and it has not gone unnoticed that almost all of
these gains have been made by women.
God Bless them!
You can read the article
in the Weekly Standard by going to:
