YouTube Restores Video Exposing Pro-Abortion Video Project

By Eric Young, Christian Post Reporter Friday, July 11, 2008

A pro-life video that was taken down by YouTube several days ago was posted back up following a wave of complaints from pro-life advocates.

The video, edited and posted in Spanish and English by the Catholic News Agency, centered on the heated discussion between a female pro-abortion activist and the pro-family leader who had revealed the abortion supporter's intent to deliberately mislead him in the interview she arranged.

"CNA is glad to see that the various pro-abortion groups who are exposed by this video did not prevail in the end," CNA Senior Editor David Uebbing said to the Population Research Institute, whose affiliate, Carlos Polo, faced off against pro-abortion filmmaker Eve Reinhardt in the YouTube video.

"The Decency Gap and its affiliates need to be held accountable for their true aims and I'm happy to see that YouTube agreed to restore our video," he added, referring to the title of Reinhardt's documentary project.

Late last month, CNA reported on Reinhart's travel through Peru and her efforts to interview bishops and pro-life leaders for the documentary she is directing. The news agency claimed that the filmmaker was backed financially by abortion supporters from around the world and that her documentary, which she claims to be unbiased, is intended to become an instrument for regaining financial support from the United States for making abortion legal in poor countries.

According to PRI, Reinhardt had obtained an interview with Polo by assuring him that she was impartial and balanced. Polo, however, discovered that she was affiliated very closely with the "hard-left, pro-abortion documentary project," The Decency Gap. In response, Polo brought his own cameraman to the interview and confronted Reinhardt, accusing her of deliberately misleading him.

"I'm little afraid because I already know what you are doing. I know that you are involved with 'The Decency Gap,'" Polo says to Reinhardt in the video after she tells him that there is not yet a title for her project.

"What you are doing is wrong," Polo pointed out. "You said you were unbiased."

In an interview with CNA, Polo said the video "shows the true identity of Reinhardt, which she tried to cleverly hide."

"[Y]ou can see the understandable discomfort of Reinhardt as she was caught trying to trick others. It is embarrassing, for certain, but in any case she was the one trying to trick me," Polo said.

Shortly after the edited version of Polo's video was posted, the original front page contents of the Decency Gap website were removed and replaced with a statement against a policy in Mexico City that opponents call the "Global Gag Rule."

Although the site's operators removed the front page text and links after Polo's video exposé, LifeSiteNews noted that they neglected to remove the site's informational pages, which was still viewable at thedecencygap.org/issue.html until it too was later removed.

Currently, the site only shows the title of the project and contains no links.

In addition to the changes to the website, Polo's video was taken down by YouTube and in its place was a blank screen and the words "This video has been removed due to terms of use violation."

"To pull that video only favors Reinhardt in her intention to trick more people," Polo explained to CNA. "I know of two other people in Peru who, thanks to that video, avoided being deceived by her."

News of the video's removal was widely spread throughout the pro-life community and along with it calls to contact YouTube over the matter.

"Tell them to repost the CNA video that they have 'inappropriately' taken down," PRI President Steve Mosher wrote to supporters of the pro-life movement. "Tell them that this is America, not the People's Republic of China."

A few days after Mosher's call, PRI reported Tuesday that the Spanish and English versions of video had been restored.

Although CNA senior editor Uebbing said his news agency was never contacted in any way by YouTube throughout this entire episode, he said he is glad to see that the video has been reposted.

On the Web: Polo's Video at youtube.com/watch?v=wMHNY_EAXPw