RE: Protest fails to further discussion, Progress letters, April 27.
We are sorry that these images hurt (the letter writer) so deeply. We are however also comforted by your understanding of the injustice of abortion, regardless of whether or not you agree with our method of protest.
The graphic images which we show the public are regularly met with confusion, opposition and anger, which has led us to pose the question why.
Why are people angered by our images? Is it because we bring to the surface an already existing tension? Is it because we expose abortion for what it really is: the brutal disembowelment, dismemberment, and decapitation of a fellow human being?
We’re sorry that these images caused you and your loved ones pain, but we assure you that we too are deeply disturbed by what they are depicting, and it pains us greatly to take such drastic measures in order to show the injustice. We wish it was possible for us to show the reality of abortion in a positive way, but there is absolutely nothing positive about the procedure. Society has dehumanized and belittled the unborn child in a manner so destructive, it warrants our immediate interference.
Abortion is legal in Canada and currently the status quo shows no sign of changing. If these images are upsetting, we need to ask ourselves, is it worse that we are made uncomfortable by such a gory depiction of human slaughter or is it worse that this happens legally behind closed doors over 100,000 times every year in our great country?
You acknowledge in your letter that the pictures we use depict dead children, and it was our hope that after seeing these images, Chilliwack residents would be angered by the horror of abortion and inspired to get involved in bringing this injustice to an end. We have seen first hand the effectiveness of our approach, after a young woman who had scheduled an abortion last summer, decided not to go through with the procedure upon seeing our graphic images on the street– and that’s only one of the many stories that prove the literally live saving power of the pictures. This young woman gave birth to a healthy baby boy last week.
Graphic images are routinely used to communicate the reality of injustices and to compel people of good will to intervene: television stations show footage of bombed civilians in war-torn countries; campaigns against starvation show images of malnourished children with distended stomachs living in deplorable conditions; the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C., displays pictures of the bodies of Jews killed during World War II. Far from violating human dignity or reducing human beings to things, such graphic imagery compels people with functioning consciences to funnel their money, their time, and their talent towards ending these crises.
We’re sorry you disagree with our method, but greatly respect and are grateful that you took the time to share your thoughts on such a controversial topic. Please do not hesitate to get in touch with us further at email@unmaskingchoice.ca
Jonathon Van Maren and Ania Kasprzak