photo credit: utsfl

Before we get to the point of discussing just war theory in the abortion debate and the conclusions that could be reached via such discussions, there is a form of armament that we have not as a movement come to adopt as much as we should. It is one of those options we ought to exhaust, but have barely started to use.

I am referring to audio, video, and pictures. Photographs of the aborted or developing unborn are common. But there is too much other footage being missed.

There is the recent case of an abortion clinic owner coming out of his clinic and trying to drown out protesters with a chainsaw in Rockford, IL. OF course I believe it, but it does sound far-fetched. And how come of all these protesters that were making him angry, NO ONE got a picture, even with a cell phone, or a video clip? Mount a picture of the abortionist holding a chainsaw on a poster (why did he even have the chainsaw in the facility?) to greet his customers with. Post it on a billboard. Submit it, with a properly written summary of events, to the local news. And even more important, post and share it on Youtube and facebook.

A tremendous opportunity to show the face of the abortion industry was missed that day. As the saying goes, “This post/story/thread is worthless without pics!”

I have been told of numerous cases where pro-life protesters witness women being rushed to hospitals in private vehicles, or pulled out with sheets over their heads. The cause of death is seldom listed as complications of abortion, so the only source of these statistics are the sidewalk counselors and protesters. And yet they often go unreported.

The technology is cheap: “Flip” style camcorders run about $80. Decent digital cameras, with optical zoom, start at about $100. These have gotten insanely simple to use. Windows comes with a free video editing tool, and if you google for a tutorial you’ll find several that will teach you how to use it.

Bandwith and hosting is cheap. Free actually, if you post to Flickr, Youtube, or Facebook.

And to get the story out, and professionally done, be sure to tell LifeNews.com, LifeSiteNews.com, and American Life League. Those three sites have the skill, reach, and resources to investigate and distribute the story around the world.

All we need is those of you in the front lines to send in the war stories, with images.

Citizen journalism is more dangerous than an armed citizenry. Whatever may be true about the rumors and stories swirling around WikiLeaks and the Afghanistan reports, individuals had to decide to leak the information. A government, an industry – these are not soulless machines, they are organizations of human beings. Sometimes, history pivots on an individuals decision to break the law, break a confidentiality agreement, and get information to the public. Even the abortion industry is not immune to this principle, for there have been participants who have come forth.

There are already thousands of pro-life individuals standing outside abortion facilities across the country. A dedicated citizen journalist with a camera in each group would be far more dangerous to the abortion industry than if the whole of the group was armed.

The question is, why aren’t we doing it then?

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No one can deny a person’s lived experience. People can argue with us about the psychological stuff, they can argue with us about whatever. But they can’t take away the truth of someone’s lived experience.

In my capacity as a journalist I attended the Reclaiming Fatherhood conference on Men and Abortion in September of 2008, put together by Vicki Thorn, founder of Project Rachel, and the Knights of Columbus, with the support of many other individuals and organizations.

The 2008 conference was to be the second annual conference, but in the past 2 years no further symposiums have been arranged. The audio of the conference was supposed to be released as free MP3s and DVDs were going to be made available. So far, this has not yet come to pass.

As I was going though my archives I realized I still had my recordings of the talks. Granted, I was sitting about 5 tables back from the speakers, but the audio quality was still decent for most of the talks. These are “bootlegs,” and you can hear my camera’s shutter and my typing at times, as well as other background noise. However, it occurred to me that these audio files could be of tremendous use in the relatively silent wake of the 2008 conference.

There were a number of valuable and intriguing gems of information at this conference. Advice from scholars and therapists on why traditional therapy does not reach men. Testimonies of real experiences. And antecdotal evidence from 1 study and 3 practicing counselors of a possible link between abortion and homosexuality.

So here they are as MP3s – raw and uncut. There are 14 talks and about 10 hours of audio here.

You can’t stop the signal.

Keep on scrolling down to listen to each of the talks right here in your browser, with some brief commentary of my own. Click on the speaker/topic name to start playing. Or, you can click here to download all the MP3 files from one page.

Intro by Vicki Thorn & Testimony by Bruce Mulligan

Vicki Thorn opens the conference, and the first of four personal testimonies is given by Bruce Mulligan. The testimonies (which really need no comment from me) are short and very powerful.

John Morales Post-Abortion Testimony

Jason Jones Post-Abortion Testimony

Rev. Brian Walker Post-Abortion Testimony

Vicki Thorn on Fatherhood Lost

Vicki Thorn spoke on the physiological aspects of fatherhood, and how abortion impacts that. Great information for sex ed, biology, or for expectant fathers, in addition to its value to the pro-life initiative and post-abortive healing.

Coyle and Rue on Existing Research

This talk by Catherine T. Coyle, PhD and Vincent Rue, PhD is very dense with information on studies that have been done already on men and abortion, and their strengths and shortcomings. Might be a bit dry for the casual listener but those of you in the research fields will want to pay close attention to this one. (Intro and start were cut off, sorry.)

Lionel Tiger on Fatherhood without Paternity

Lionel Tiger, PhD. was a surprising guest. Right off the bat he admitted to not sharing the pro-life approach to the abortion problem, but he spoke at this conference out of solidarity with those who recognized men’s shrinking role in society and the harmful impact.

Tom Golden on Masculine Healing

Tom Golden’s presentation on Masculine Healing pointed out how modern counseling and therapy does not address mens needs or provide the environment men naturally seek. A must not only for post-abortive men and those that love them, but anyone who has a man in their life who suffers from grief. Tom was the most animated of the speakers and left the podium for much of his talk, so the audio levels are low.

First Day Q&A with Speakers

Question and answer session with Dr. Tiger, Dr. Coyle, Tom Golden and Vicki Thorn.

Vincent Rue on Trauma and Abortion

The first of the second day’s talks, Vincent Rue returned to address the specific psychological impact and symptoms of the trauma of abortion in men. The talk is preceded by (part of) a presentation of an award to Vicki Thorn.

Greg Hasek on Medicating the Pain

A terrific follow-up to identifying the pain caused by abortion, Greg Hasek spoke on the grieving and normal and abnormal ways men deal with the pain. Another very important talk for those who counsel, love, or treat men that are grieving.

Fr Martin Pabel on the Spiritual Aspects

While many of the speakers to this point may have had a Christian world view, their presentations were on the biology, statistical data, or psychology of abortion’s impact. Fr. Martin Pabel dedicates his presentation to addressing the needs of the soul.

Catherine Coyle on Forgiveness Therapy

Catherine T. Coyle, PhD, returns to speak on the use of forgiveness therapy for men hurting from abortion, and what forgiveness really means. Her talk is preceded by Vicki talking about future plans, including the talks becoming available as free MP3 downloads.

Q&A with Speakers

The closing Q&A session with Greg Hasek, Viki Thorn, Dr. Coyle, and Fr. Pable. There is an interesting point where Hasek, Thorn, and Coyle all recall having post-abortive patients who identified as homosexual after the abortion; some returned to heterosexual relationships after therapy. At this point the data is anecdotal, but could be the subject of a future study.

For more information on the conference, you can visit the main site at MenAndAbortion.info.

Press Coverage of the Conference:
American Life League’s Celebrate Life Magazine (PDF)
US News and World Report (and follow up article)