Posted on 08/10/2007 10:34:35 AM PDT by wagglebee
CALGARY, August 9, 2007 (LifeSiteNews.com) - In contrast with the media blackout that pro-life Canadians are used to expecting at their demonstrations, media coverage of the Reproductive Choice Campaign trucks rolling on Calgary streets this week has been lively. The trucks feature three-metre high photos of aborted children and an email address for more information.
Local papers and radio stations were joined by CBC and Global News who took video footage, while CTV News Calgary has run a two-minute television news spot three times in the last two days and included the sponsoring group's website address. This coverage constitutes a frenzy compared to the nearly total media blackout that is traditional at pro-life events such as the annual March for Life event in Ottawa.
The Calgary Sun headlined today's article, "Graphic abortion images shock Calgarians" and carried the CTV story verbatim in print form. A smaller local paper, Fast Forward Weekly, ran the headline "Little truck of horrors" and quoted Stephanie Gray, Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Bioethical Reform, the truck's sponsoring group, responding to the accusations of shocking onlookers. "If there is nothing wrong with abortion, the images shouldn't bother them," she said.
A talk radio station, CHQR 770, has been broadcasting their report on the trucks every half hour from noon yesterday to five pm today. 630 CHED radio in Edmonton will carry a live 30-minute interview with Gray and she will be on 940 Montreal at 10:35 am EST for ten minutes.
CTV's video spot, which is available online, clearly shows close-ups of the photos and reporter Najuma Yagzan says, "You can clearly distinguish a body, hands and feet."
Jose Ruba, a cofounder and staffer of CCBR who today drove the support car accompanying the trucks, told LifeSiteNews.com that this was likely the first time the GAP pictures had been seen on English-language Canadian television.
"We had the GAP photos in Ottawa in 2004 when Planned Parenthood was giving Henry Morgentaler a lifetime achievement award and the national French-language TV used the images. But even when the CBC covered the controversy over the GAP display at UBC [in 2000], they only filmed the GAP images from 30 or 40 feet away."
"The whole story at UBC then was about the signs, but they didn't even show them. So today's coverage from so many sources was a big win for us in that they showed the signs," Ruba said.
Onlookers interviewed by CTV agreed that the images are "shocking" but also that they depict something true. "I've had nothing to do with it personally, so you don't think seriously about it, but looking at that, you can see the murder aspect of it all," one man said.
CTV offered a counter argument from a spokesman of Sexual Health Access Alberta (SHAA), but declined to mention that the group is an abortion advocating organization that until September 2006 was called Planned Parenthood Alberta. SHAA's Executive Director, Laura Wershler, criticised the tactic saying, "In those circumstances there's no opportunity for meaningful discussion or debate."
But Stephanie Gray told LifeSiteNews.com that she and her group were still waiting to hear back from Wershler on their offer of a public debate. Gray said, "I contacted Laura requesting a debate partner and I'm waiting to hear back from her and this is months ago."
CCBR said they contacted Wershler on November 16, 2006 on behalf of the pro-life club at the University of Calgary. "I emailed her a sample debate format and agreed that the debate should be a civil one with a neutral moderator."
"I'm still waiting to hear back from her," Gray said.
Wershler did not return calls from LifeSiteNews.com by deadline.
Onlookers interviewed by CTV, however, showed no signs of psychological trauma from seeing the photos. In one street interview, a young woman appeared unsettled but admitted that the images were depicting the reality of abortion, "To me, that's really harsh, but that's reality I guess. It's what happens when you have an abortion. But, wow, that is graphic, yeah."
Read related LifeSiteNews.com coverage:
Billboard-Size Abortion Photos to be Shown throughout Canada as Trucks Take the Message to the Streets
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/aug/07080802.html
Pro-Life GAP Display At UBC Causes an Uproar
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2000/oct/00102501.html
Bloggers Trump Mainstream Media With YouTube Videos of Canadian March for Life
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2007/may/07051705.html
Watch CTV coverage:
http://calgary.ctv.ca/servlet/RTGAMArticleHTMLTemplate/B/200...
I don’t think that’s what she said. Read again.
No, they weren’t on TV or in movies.
You don’t know what the child is really taught. Don’t make such foolish assumptions.
I don't recall I said he was five. Actually, he was more than twice that. We would be at school, and I would try to be a good big brother three years older and protect him from swear words, dirty jokes, etc. I don't know about what you would think about that but Mom thought it was ok for me to try to be a good big brother.
Mom wasn't with us during those times.
I’m pretty surprised by you Judith Anne.
Normally, you’re a pretty rational person.
Maybe it’s just been too long since you had babies in your house. That Grandmother role hardens you to the emotional problems that mom’s have to deal with.
It’s easy to give kids nightmares for a cause when you can send them home with mommy. What the heck, they’ll get over it.
I’m so sorry to hear about your friend.
Don’t give me any more of your supercilious bs. I’m surprised at you—that you would take this article and decide that the entire discussion would revolve around your nephew and his so-called trauma.
You have attempted to bully and insult everyone here who has disagreed with you, and you continue to attempt that with me.
I told you, I’m done with you. Hope your nephew isn’t scarred for life. /sarc
In fact, most of the brainwashing to which you allude doesn't take place in every community. I live in Lansing, Michigan--the very city in which netmil's SIL and nephew had their experience with one of the vans. And yes--I am one of those dreadful parents who sends her kids off to public schools. Not once--not even one time!--in the years that my kids have been going to school have they been exposed to any form of literature from a pro-abort group. Nothing, zip, zilch, nada. PP et al are not allowed to leave any such material at the elementary schools, nor are they allowed to speak as a group at any of the elem schools in our district. As crappy as our school district is, the administration went so far as to remove PP from a parental resource list--they appeared, name, address and phone number, along with lists of museums and libraries, food banks and free dental clinics, etc. Enough of us complained that if PP was on the list, the district better include the contact info for the local crisis pregnancy centers as well. The district agreed with no fanfare whatsoever.
So what am I missing here? How is it that my kids are being brainwashed by the pro-aborts, to such a degree (to ANY degree) which would validate one of the vans being used in my community?
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Nice.
You send your kids to PUBLIC SCHOOL!!!!
Oh the horror!
Bet you let them play on I-96 at night too....;-}.
I think it’s one of those, “When I’m insulted, anything is fair game.”
>>Guess what, no nightmares and yes my 5 year old has seen post abortion pictures.<<
Did you show them to your five year old?
Hmm, perhaps the smallest children among us should be asking, "Mommy, why didn't that happen to me?" Conservative parents will have good answers, liberal parents will have lousy ones. Maybe the kids of the liberal parents need to learn to distrust them way before their teenage years.
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That was my impression as well. There are times it is better to write a post and then hit the "go back" button. Anger can be a person's worst friend.
>>Hmm, perhaps the smallest children among us should be asking, “Mommy, why didn’t that happen to me?”<<
I like your point about the libs.
But when it comes to Conservative parents, the kids shouldn’t have to ask.
My girls knew that we had an option to kill them before they were born, at a very young age. They understand the words “kill” and “dead”. They know we love them and those who kill babies inside mommies, are selfish and killers.
We taught them this with a picture of Our Lord holding a fetus. It worked.
They won't, they will have been educated about the ignorance that surrounds them. They will be little witnesses to the fact that all innocent life is precious. Their classmates will learn great things from them.
>>They won’t, they will have been educated about the ignorance that surrounds them.<<
Exactly. Pro-life parents need to get on the ball to explaining all of this to their children from a VERY early age. Age appropriately.
We can all start early with a Life Chain event. Kids love them and other kids are there too! The best example to my kids are other families involved.
But it’s the Parent’s responsibility. Get on the parents, not the kids.
Government schools routinely show a movie called "PROM NIGHT" and they show bloody gory video of teens after a alcohol related accident....it is MEANT TO BE TRAUMATIC! I suppose the photos of an aborted fetus may be traumatic which means these activists are using the same strategy employed by people trying to save lives by educating kids about alcohol. The only problem I have with these trucks is that it might reach children under 14-16+, the targeted age group.
I would lower the age. 12 year olds are having sex, getting pregnant and having abortions.
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