Using social media to save lives
by Lead Moderator Carla
I have been on Facebook for years and have added many pro-lifers to my friends list in an effort to stay current on pro-life issues. But I also try to educate the friends I have who do not know the truth about the abortion industry.
In at least four instances, I have been involved in helping stop forced abortions by simply responding to status updates or prayer requests on Facebook. These were women and teenage girls being coerced by boyfriends or parents. I responded with immediate practical help and advice to keep innocent lives from being destroyed. One of the ways I did this was to encourage them to contact The Center Against Forced Abortion, which is a project of The Justice Foundation.
My friend, attorney Allan Parker, is at JF to help women who are being forced into abortions. CAFA also provides several forms that can be downloaded, printed, and distributed to young women, their parents, or their significant others. These should be in the hands of every sidewalk counselor and should also be available at pregnancy resource centers.
In the cases where I have been involved, those who were trying to force an abortion were advised that their actions were illegal.
The Center Against Forced Abortion has this to say about coercion:
Problem –
- Many teenage girls are being coerced into abortion by their parents
- Pregnancy resource centers are generally unequipped to help legally defend these clients, and subsequently coerced abortions occur
- Even under Roe v. Wade, the decision to keep the child is supposedly the woman’s alone, so these young women’s rights are being violated when they are coerced into abortion
Response –
- The Justice Foundation has created a “Dear Parent Letter,” which (in a friendly, helpful, and serious manner) informs the teen mother’s parents that they could be guilty of illegal actions if they force their daughter to have an abortion
- Combined with Life Dynamics’ Letter to Abortionists, which is a signed statement indicating the mother’s non-consent to an abortion, the two documents form a powerful legal defense that empowers the teen mother to stand for her child
Effectiveness –
- Gives pregnancy centers a proven strategy to defend teens from parentally coerced abortions
- Equips the teen mother with legal documents empowering her decision to keep her child
- Trial distributions indicate the strategy is very effective (testimonies below)
- If just one baby is saved at two out of every three pregnancy resource centers that receive the letter and training, then CAFA will facilitate the protection of 2,000 babies lives
There have also been instances when abortion vulnerable and abortion minded mothers that have sent personal messages to me on Facebook seeking help. In those cases, I have been able to refer many to pregnancy resource centers, and others to post-abortion recovery programs if they were forced into abortions.
We don’t have to helplessly stand on the sidewalk when a young woman is crying out to us that she DOES NOT want an abortion, and we don’t have to merely post a sad face comment on social media in response. We can help to stop forced abortions!
Lives of mothers and their children have been saved through social media. Facebook has given us all an amazing opportunity to make a difference, and I, for one, will not squander it.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Great article, Carla!
Thank you for giving sidewalk counselors another tool to use. This resource truly empowers girls and young women at time when they are vulnerable.
This is one of the most brilliantly informative and useful articles that I have seen on Jill’s blog.
Why are there so few comments? I think I know why….
Pro-aborts have no answer to the problem of forced abortions. Pro-aborts cannot admit that their zealous enthusiasm allows parents, pimps, boyfriends, employers and government agents to violate the human rights and natural instincts of women. So the pro-aborts respond with silence, hoping the discussion will go away.
Meanwhile pro-lifers (like me) keep reading this article, over and over, trying to memorize the information so we can be ready to save a woman and her child. All we can think of to say is —
Amazing job, Carla!!!
Excellent article, Carla! This is really useful information!
If the pro-aborts do speak up, they must, it seems, mention ‘forced pregnancy.’ At no time are they permitted to discuss forced abortions without the obligatory deflection.
@ ninek: People are often pressured into various actions. This isn’t specific to abortion.
I think everyone knows that women are sometimes bullied into aborting but this is true regardless of its legal status. A biography of Maria Callas reported that Aristotle Onassis pressured her into aborting back when it was illegal. He had billions and billions but didn’t want another child competing with the kids he already had.
The story is disputed by Maria Callas’ ex-husband who claims she wasn’t able to get pregnant and, if she had gotten pregnant by some miracle, no one could have pressured her into aborting.
Thank you!!
If you would like to friend me on facebook email me
carla@jillstanek.com :)
People are often pressured into various actions. This isn’t specific to abortion.
Except for this post and this thread are specific to abortion.
Great info Carla…
Denise – “sometimes”?
In fact, just a few months ago, in my city, a woman was shot to death by a hit man on her boyfriend’s orders because she changed her mind about having an abortion.
I daresay murder is not a first or even a last resort for most individuals. But what about the myriad other, more subtle forms of coercion? Are those statistics encouraging, do you think?
I’m sure it still happened before Roe, but I am equally confident that when women are coerced, legality makes it easier to cover up the truth.