Sanctity of Life Month: Dozens of Sonograms to Convey Pro-Life Message
January marks National Sanctity of Life Month and Family Research Council has launched a new campaign called “I’m Pro-Life because…” to raise awareness for it.
FRC is collecting pictures of people holding their own sonograms or newborn photos to convey to the public that human beings have dignity from conception to death. Jeanne Monahan, director of the Center for Human Dignity at FRC, told The Christian Post that the campaign is really about “the power of the image.”
“Technology is becoming sharper and sharper,” she said. Sonograms show that babies aren’t just blobs; “we can just show things for what they are,” she said. This project lets the pictures tell the story.
Monahan said that they sent out the alert for the pictures a week ago, but they weren’t expecting much of a response until after the holidays. Even so, they have already received 125 pictures.
The Washington, D.C.-based organization is asking people to include with their pictures a brief Twitter-esque description of why they are pro-life as well as a word that describes the unborn baby such as Musician, Brother, Writer, or Human Being.
One woman sent in her picture saying that she and her husband went to an abortion clinic to terminate the pregnancy of her eldest son a number of years ago. When she was shown a sonogram of him, she couldn’t go through with it.
She and her husband decided to keep the baby and they both became pro-life. The couple went on to have more children, and her picture shows her with the entire family.
Another picture that stuck out to Monahan is one of a smiling, healthy 5-year-old girl. The girl was born premature, and she is holding a picture of herself as a baby hooked up to machines and tubes that kept her alive after she was born.
FRC has other initiatives and speakers planned for Sanctity of Life Month. During the March for Life on Jan. 23 the group will be hosting pro-life activist Lila Rose who is scheduled to speak about her undercover work at Planned Parenthood.
Samuel Armas is also a featured speaker. Armas is known for a famous pro-life picture from 1999 when he was operated on for spina bifida while in his mother’s womb. The picture shows his tiny hand sticking out from outside the womb and grasping the doctor’s finger during the surgery.
Monahan is hopeful, not just for The Sanctity of Life month and the campaign, but also for the new year. “In a general sense, I think we are winning the battle. We have science and truth on our side. More and more people are becoming pro-life.”
This past year saw some of the biggest strides in pro-life legislation, and initiatives like this campaign are one of the many that are helping raise awareness for life.
Six states passed late-term abortion bans after 20 weeks of development last year. More and more Planned Parenthood clinics are coming under scrutiny, most notably in Kansas due to an investigation over their destruction of records under former Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
The Heartbeat Bill was also introduced in Ohio and Kansas, and the House voted to defund Planned Parenthood.
Monahan said she thinks any laws passed regarding informed consent is also helpful in the movement. Studies show that the more a woman knows about the consequences abortion can have on her own life and what’s happening with the development of the baby, the less likely she is to have an abortion, she noted.
FRC will start posting pictures and stories in the coming weeks.
On the Web: http://www.frc.org/alert/tell-us-why-youre-pro-life