The U.S. Bishop’s conference has started a new pro-life campaign called the "Second Look Project" where they will be running ads in the Washington area and throughout the US.
Here is one poster which I think is pretty effective. [PDF format]
Here is the second one. [PDF format]
6 comments
Um . . . I’m not at all impressed.
The pro-choice response to this campaign is obvious: We shouldn’t have abortion on demand, but certainly it is reasonable to say it should be allowed during the first trimester!
Also, the website should be honest and contain some kind of info as to who is running it (i.e. the U.S. Bishops).
Well, there is a timeline of fetal development… and let me tell you, until my first pregnancy, I did not realize how quickly babies develop. I was shocked to see the heart beating at 5 weeks.
In any case, you have to start somewhere. We’re unlikely to get birth control pills banned, though they prevent implantation of fertilized ova, but if people see how early the baby is unmistakeably a baby… perhaps we can roll it back. I’m not expecting a leap to legal purity. At this moment, I’d be happy with getting late term abortion bans, full disclosure laws, and parental notification laws. We don’t have much as it is.
I think we definitely need campaigns like this. I do, however, think that these ads can convey the wrong message. The slogan “Have we gone too far?” implies that there is a point which is not “too far”. The checklist doesn’t list anything between conception and the first heartbeat. Would it be ok to abort then? The message doesn’t come through clear enough that any abortion is too far.
Don’t get me wrong, I love the fact that they’re trying, but I’m also not overly impressed by the ads.
First, the same point made above, the ads seem to be implying that there might be some point which is not too far.
Second, in the first ad, why is the baby referred to as “it” rather than “she”?
I guess they figure that there is much more political support for some restrictions on abortion than for complete restrictions. That’s a prudential call. I hope this campaign helps the movement.
My wife, who grew up in Japan, said that in 7th grade health class they examined and held in their hands the instruments used to perform abortions. She remembers vividly what they looked like and how scary they were. The purpose of these instruments was very real to these girls (all girls school) and made an impact without used euphamized words.
I wonder if this would be effective in addition to these efforts.
Good campaign by our Bishops. Start planting seeds of doubt in folks who don’t really understand the tragedy of abortion.
As to the campaign not being “anti” enough – the idea is to convince people in a reasonable way and not hammer them over the head. Human nature rebels against being told what is right and wrong – we want to make our own minds up. This campaign helps form people’s consciences in the right manner.