A coalition of pro-life organizations has begun placing billboards in the exact same locations as the controversial pro-abortion billboards commissioned by California Governor Gavin Newsom in September.
Newsom’s billboards were placed in pro-life states and used Bible verses to lure women to California for abortions. This led to a significant amount of outrage, particularly among Christians, with one pro-life leader calling them “twisted” and one popular pastor referring to them as “gross blasphemy.”
In response, The Coalition for an Abortion-Free Future is placing new pro-life billboards in the same locations, including in Columbus, Ohio. One of the pro-life billboards states, “Save sex for marriage. Plan your future, not your abortion. AbortionlessFuture.com.”
The Abortionless Future website includes information on why sex should be reserved for marriage and the dangers of hormonal birth control, as well as the physical and emotional benefits that come with waiting until marriage to have sex.
According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 86% of abortions are carried out on unmarried women with 412 abortions per 1,000 live births. Married women have an abortion ratio of 46 abortions per 1,000 live births.
“We need to have a conversation in this country — including in the pro-life movement — about the true cause of most abortions,” said coalition spokesman Mark Harrington. “The billboards are intended to remind people of the inconvenient truth that the main driver of abortion is irresponsible sexual activity.”
One of Newsom’s billboards from last fall included the wording, “Need an abortion? California is ready to help” along with the Bible verse Mark 12:31, stating “Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these.”
However, abortion destroys an innocent human being’s life — which is not loving — and can cause emotional, spiritual, and sometimes physical harm to the mother. According to a report from the Charlotte Lozier Institute, 95.7% of abortions are carried out for “elective or unspecified reasons.” In addition, a study in the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons revealed that nearly 75% of women with a history of abortion who sought post-abortion care admitted they felt at least subtle forms of pressure to abort.
