Images, Social Media, Young People Key in Pro-Life Fight
In the fight to end abortion, the power of the image is key, say pro-life activists.
Billboards, videos and ultrasound images have all contributed to getting the pro-life message out and changing hearts. But a lot of the pro-life messaging today is without form or design, and often there isn't a concentration in creating a powerful link between the message and the recipient, said Ryan Bomberger, founder of The Radiance Foundation and TooManyAborted.com, on Monday.
Bomberger was speaking at ProLifeCon, an event hosted by Family Research Council for the online pro-life community. The conference was held on the day of the annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., and one day after the 39th anniversary of Roe v. Wade.
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While stressing the importance of strategy when it comes to conveying the pro-life message to the public, Bomberger lamented that a lot of their messaging is without form or design, and often there isn't a concentration in creating a powerful link between the message and the recipient.
He warned that if law firms "approached law the same way the pro-life movement approaches design, we'd be in a whole lot of trouble. There's strategy behind law."
Often, "we miss the opportunity to impact individuals with design that powerfully communicates" the pro-life message, he said.
Pro-lifers should intentionally approach how they broadcast their message "when trying to convey the most important human rights issue of our day," said Bomberger.
His organization has done so through short videos and billboards which have stirred both controversy and discussion while educating the public with abortion statistics.
The Radiance Foundation made headlines last year with its billboard campaign in California which featured an African-American baby and the words "Black & Beautiful," along with the website TooManyAborted.com/CA. California Congresswoman Barbara Lee denounced the ads, saying they "stigmatize women of color."
The black community, according to Bomberger, was behind the group's efforts to raise awareness about the growing rate of abortions among African-Americans and provide alternatives such as adoption.
Abortion in the black community takes place at a rate three to five times higher than in the white community, he lamented, and in New York City 60 percent of black pregnancies end in abortion.
Bomberger noted that what his organization is doing isn't the only way "we can illuminate the truth. There are different battlefronts."
Lila Rose, who also spoke at ProLifeCon, has been able to get her message out about the corruption of Planned Parenthood through avenues like YouTube and social media as a whole. Rose, 23, is known for undercover investigations – all taped on video – that expose illegal activities that take place at abortion clinics.
Young people, raised on Facebook and social media, are some of the leading activists in the pro-life fight. Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.) told youths at ProLifeCon that they are the most pro-life generation yet because they are starting to see the ramifications of abortion.
Pro-life chapters of Students for Life have grown across college campuses, with over 600 active SFL groups operating across the country.
Kristan Hawkins, executive director of Students for Life of America, told those at the conference that what makes her generation different is the "realization that everybody born after 1973 could have been aborted for a mere $350 …. [and] that we know we're all missing siblings, cousins, friends, peers because of abortion."
For Hawkins, the biggest duty of pro-life activists is to put images of ultrasounds online. The power of the image can't be discounted and is integral in abolishing abortion, she stressed.
The biggest reason people are pro-life is because of images, she pointed out. We now know what the preborn baby looks like, she said, adding, "Technology is on our movement's side, social media is our tool."
