As one can easily surmise, there are many approaches to conveying the pro-life message to the public: large displays of aborted fetuses, such as what Justice For All or The Genocide Awareness Project uses; prayerful gatherings in front of abortion mills, such as the 40 Days For Life campaign; large pro-life marches in Washington DC or other communities; or speeches, blogs, and websites. All have an appropriate place in the movement and most methods have been very successful.
One approach that is not regularly seen in the United States are the fetal model displays. They may be seen at state fairs, for example, when a local Right To Life group sets up a display, but are usually not on a continuous basis in a community. This is a very comfortable way of sharing the pro-life view that doesn't have the shock or confrontational aspect that aborted baby photos often have. Those who do not feel compelled to volunteer at a large display of photos may find the fetal model method to their liking.
In England an organization called Created4Life has display tables of fetal models set up often on college campuses, town centers or at special occasions. Created4Life has developed a free online training course for anyone interested in setting up a table. A typical conversation that may arise is covered in the course:
Person: "Why are you showing these?"You: "We're showing these to help people make the connection between babies we can see, look after or hold in our arms [you can point to a baby or toddler, if there's one nearby] and those babies still in the womb. We can't see them but they are just as human as you and me. Babies in the womb are very vulnerable. Did you know that a quarter of all pregnancies will end in the death of the baby because of an abortion? There will be over 500 abortions in this country ... today." [500 in UK, 4000 per day in US]
Person: "No! Really?"You: "That's as many people as went to my primary school." [This is a powerful way to envisage the numbers]
Person: "I had no idea. So, what's the point of you doing this out here?"
You: "Some people think that the baby in the womb is just a clump of cells, something that you can just get rid of. Showing what the baby really looks like in the womb dispels this myth. It helps to show how human and how precious life is, right from day one. [Point to the Day One picture.] This is magnified many times but that's when our life began.
We hope through showing these models that women and men will choose to keep their babies and not have an abortion. In fact, what we are doing here today actually saves lives: people have come back to tell us that this Display Table has changed their mind about having an abortion. They show their newborn baby and they're so pleased about! It's amazing."
You: "What do you think about this? ......
At the Created4Life Display Table: a woman announced to her family while pointing at us, "These are the people I met at their table in [another town]. They changed my mind about aborting your little sister!" She is now nine months old and the mum and family wouldn't give her up for the world.
The following is from the Created4Life website::
What we do and how...
We set up our small display table in a suitable location.
On display are...
Life-sized baby models, 7 to 18 weeks from conception
Free Created4Life leaflets
Free 10 week baby models and Precious Feet badges
Beautiful images of developing pre-born babies
We visit the same location on a regular basis - every week if possible. This friendly approach leads to numerous discussions and contacts.
Please note...
This is a humanitarian issue
This is NOT a banner-waving protest
We do NOT display graphic abortion pictures
Created4Life is not a religious organization
We don't aim to enter the political arena
Our motive is compassion and our attitude non-judgemental
Created4Life displays are simple, effective and easily replicated.
It seems this method of promoting the pro-life position would be perfect for college campuses. Often campuses will have several tables set up for different organizations or viewpoints. Even though the administration may disapprove of the pro-life view, it should be easier to get authorization to have a table set up on a regular basis than a large pro-life exhibit.
If anyone is interested in setting up display tables in America, England, or any other country please contact Created4Life or Stand For Life.
