Each year, thousands of students from across the country participate in pro-life displays on their campuses. Carlos, one of our Live Action youth leaders shares his experience talking with Planned Parenthood supporters. We hope this will encourage you to get active on your campus this fall and start spreading the message of life. Being bold with the truth will change hearts and save lives, and lead to some pretty interesting debates!
Sharing the Pro-Life Message at De Anza College
Each year Project Truth goes up and down California with displays, much like the Center for Bioethical Reform’s “GAP Project” except only a little smaller, that reveal the graphic truth that abortion undoubtedly kills children. I got the chance to help them in their dialogue with students when they visited De Anza College in April.
Shortly after setting up the abortion displays, two students arrived, holding signs like: “If you can force women to give birth, we can force you to have a vasectomy.” Puzzled, my friend Steve and I decided to investigate.Their main argument was that among those involved in the Project Truth display, seven of us were men and only two were women.
“Just because I’m a man, and I can’t have an abortion, doesn’t mean I can’t say it’s wrong.” I said. “For instance, I am not a mugger, I’ve never been mugged, and I don’t know someone who has been mugged. Just because it hasn’t happened to me doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to say it’s wrong.”
“That’s not our argument.” was the response the two students kept giving me.
When I started speaking about how just because a child is conceived in rape, that does not make him invaluable, the girl said, “Sorry, but if you haven’t noticed, I’m not talking to you anymore.”
On the second day, one student called her mother to come see what we were doing. Her mother worked at the Planned Parenthood on The Alameda in San Jose.
While I was speaking to a group of people, she jumped in and decided to expose me for the terrible person I really am.
“Hold on! Let me ask you one question: Is your goal to defund Planned Parenthood?”
“I would be very happy to see that happen, yes.”
“There you have it!” She shouted to the group, “This man wants to take away women’s access to safe abortions, access to birth control, mammograms-“
“Mammograms?” I asked her. “You obviously haven’t seen Live Action’s new videos have you? Live Action made a compilation of recorded phone calls which proves that Planned Parenthood does not even perform mammograms.”
By then a crowd of people gathered insisting that Planned Parenthood helps a lot of people and that a lot of people would “die” if Planned Parenthood lost their funding.
Unfortunately, right as the debates were getting good, the campus administration showed up just in time to pressure students to “end dialogue”.
I encourage anyone who is capable of calmly sharing the pro-life message to college students to join Live Action and other pro-life campus outreaches at a school near you. You will learn a lot from your experiences, and it will help better your skills at discussing and debating the topic of abortion, and the truth that it kills children.
Carlos Barrera, 15
