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Truth Tour does 4-state blitz

We are the" resistance fighters" of the pro-life movement-just like the resistance fighters in occupied Poland and France in World War II. We in America are in "occupied territory," where abortion is the law of the land, and we are the resistance fighters in the war against abortion.
- Margaret Koebke Volunteer, College Park stop surrounding states, showing the grim truth about abortion to a public largely denied access to that truth by the mainstream media.

For the second year in a row, Defend Life's Face the Truth Tour swept across Maryland and surrounding states, showing the grim truth about abortion to a public largely denied access to the truth by the mainstream media.

This year's August 12-17 tour was an expansion of last year's: more stops (19 instead of 16); more days (six instead of five); more states covered (Pennsylvania was added on to Maryland, Virginia and Delaware); more volunteers (about 700 compared to 600).

But the method and the message were the same: line the streets of a major thoroughfare with pro-lifers displaying large posters of aborted babies; cut through all the euphemistic verbiage about "reproductive rights" and "a woman's choice" and "terminating a pregnancy," and let people see with their own eyes that abortion is the killing of a small human being.

"We did what Face the Truth tours are supposed to do," says Defend Life Director Jack Ames. "We used the visual images of aborted babies to dramatize the terrible evil of abortion."

Angry driver breaks sign

Fingers of light were just streaking the pre-dawn darkness when Fr. Tom Euteneuer, president of Human Life International, offered Mass for the Defend Lifers at HLI headquarters chapel in Front Royal, Va., on August 12.

Father Euteneuer then joined approximately 30 pro-lifers, including many homeschoolers and volunteers from as far away as Charles Town and Martinsburg, W.Va., to kick off the tour at 7:30 a.m.

 "Father Euteneuer could not have been more supportive," says Jack.

Tour Director Kristen Hussle told a friendly reporter from The Winchester Star, "So many people's impression is that abortion is a normal medical procedure, like taking medicine for an illness; but abortion is not a treatment, it's murder.''

Local pro-lifers showed up in force at the Hagerstown lunchtime stop, located on the same block as the local abortion mill, Hagerstown Reproductive Services.

The Hagerstown Herald-Mail gave fair coverage to the prolifers, and also recorded a few snippy quotes from the abortion mill's administrator, Diane Silas.

Although one irate woman driving children in a minivan swerved into a propped-up sign, knocking it over and breaking it, many more drivers honked their approval or gave a "thumbs-up."

Judie Brown joins tour

The evening rush-hour stop in Frederick "was one of our best stops," says Jack. "We had signs stretched out for about a mile on Route 40." Frederick tour captain Bob Tansey counted approximately 75 participants, with coverage before and during the stop by radio stations WFMD and WJTM, as well as the Frederick Post.

Judie Brown, director of the major national pro-life organization, American Life League, joined in the Frederick demonstration to demonstrate ALL support.

August 13 began with a good showing of 55 demonstrators for the morning stop on Rockville Pike.

"People were very receptive in Rockville," says Kristen. Kate Zeitler, Brigid Prosser and Greg Fisher, part of the dozen member core group that traveled the entire tour, handed out 150 fliers explaining the purpose of the signs to passing motorists.

About 30 pro-lifers from all over the capital joined in the Washington, D.C., lunch-time stop.

"One mother brought her five children; they were all little water earners up and down the street," says DC captain Joan McKee.

Fr. Tom Morrow, of St. Catherine Laboure Church in Silver Spring, concelebrated Mass in St. Ann's Church with Fr. Peter West of Priests for Life, a group that strongly supports Face the Truth tours.

Fr. Patrick McCaffrey of St. Stephen's Church also took part in the demonstration.

The public reaction was generally positive, says Joan.

One pretty, 31-year-old African-American woman was greatly moved by the pictures.

"Is that really what abortion is?" she said. "It is so heartbreaking!"

Collegiates counter-protest

At College Park, near the main campus entrance, demonstrators were soon confronted with two college students holding handmade signs declaring, "Keep abortion safe and legal" and "Support Roe v. Wade." The female of the duo grinned, cheered at passersby, clapped her hands above her heard and twirled around excitedly.

Assistant Tour Director Michael Hussle engaged in an earnest and courteous discussion with the two, attempting to explain why abortion was wrong, but made no headway.

"You have no right to tell me what I can do with my body!" the young woman insisted.

"In College Park people were not happy that we were there at all," admits Kristen.

"We got a lot of negative response. But we got more positive response than I thought we would." Drivers crossing the Routes 3 and 450 West intersection in Bowie the morning of August 14 saw a long line of demonstrators in both directions.

"We had a great turnout," says Jack. "Afterwards, we went to Sacred Heart Chapel and Fr. West offered Mass and gave us a beautiful homily about St Maximilian Kolbe."

Pregnant driver targets sign

The broiling noonday sun failed to wilt the spirits of the prolifers lining Route 175 in Columbia.

"It's awesome!" core group member Marty Link exclaimed.

"You can just feel the grace coming down on you every time someone attacks you; it's like they're attacking Christ."

Pat Hale, a member of St John the Evangelist Church, had a special reason for being there. Showing a photo of her handsome, smiling young grandson, she explained that doctors had said he had Down's Syndrome, and urged that he be aborted.

Pointing to the sign she held, she said, "I hope people who are giving me the middle finger will think, 'Hey, that might have been me-I might have been aborted!'" One woman driver switched from the left lane to the right line and swerved at Jack Kissane, causing him to snatch his sign from her path.

"And she was pregnant!" said Kissane.

The woman rolled down her window and yelled, "You ought to be ashamed!"

"Don't you believe your child comes from God?" said Jack.

"You people are disgusting!" she snapped, and drove off.

"A sight to behold"

The evening stop in Westminster was the largest stop of the tour and, says Jack, probably the largest stop ever of any Face the Truth Tour.

Approximately 170 pro-lifers lined Route 140. On the bank on the north side they stood in two lines, the second line on a terrace above the first.

With just 100 signs available, many pro-lifers stood two to a sign.

 "The big crowd of people praying beforehand was a sight to behold," recalls Westminster co-captain Vince Perticone.

"There was a lot of love displayed. People were helping one another. There were lots of children, and teenagers holding signs." Three priests, a seminarian and a Protestant minister took part.

Standing there with his sign, Vince saw every emotion imaginable on the faces of passing motorists.

"I saw forlorn faces, angry faces, blank faces staring straight ahead so they could avoid the signs.

 "One woman stopped her car. She was crying profusely. She said, 'Why do I have to see these signs?' I explained that the media suppress the truth about abortion, that there is a complete blackout."

Another woman stopped her car and told Vince, "Turn that sign around! I'm getting out of the car my children are seeing this!"

"I said, 'How you react yourself is how your children will react. My own grandchildren understand that abortion is evil, and we must fight to end it.'

"I would not turn the sign around. She pulled off, peeling wheels, very angry."

But the overwhelming reaction was positive, says Vince.

Most encouraging to him was the knowledge that they had definitely saved a baby's life.

A woman who was planning to have an abortion drove by, saw all the signs and demonstrators, and realized she could not go through with it. She later reported her change of mind to a counselor at a local pregnancy center.

"Who is to say, of all the hundreds of thousands of cars that went by, how many women came to that same conclusion? Only God knows," says Vince.

Impressed by sign

Pro-lifers crossed the Mason-Dixon line to Route 94 in Hanover, Pa., on the morning of August 15, where they were joined by about 20 local pro-lifers.

"They were real happy we were there," says core group member Sr. Nancy Hanson.

Among them was Fr. Paul Aumen, a retired priest who spent 38 years as a missionary in South America.

"Father led us in our closing prayer," said Sister Nancy. "He was like a saint! He said, 'I can't think: of a worse sin than abortion.'"

At the lunch-time stop in Shrewsbury, Pa., an elderly resident of the trailer park perched on a hill behind the roadway volunteered his lawn as space for signs.

At the demonstration, Earscell Wilhelm, who drove up from Timonium to take part, reflected, "It's a shame that we're living in a time when we have to get out and beg people to stop killing their children."

The hot August sun mercifully went behind the clouds and a late afternoon breeze cooled the brows of the 60 to 70 pro-lifers who lined both sides of Northern Parkway in Baltimore.

Cookie Harris and several young core group members handed out hundreds of fliers to receptive motorists stopped for red lights at York Road.

"I never dreamed I'd be doing anything like this," said Pat Gibbons, who held a sign near her husband Ed.

"But after I saw the posters and a pro-life video showing aborted babies-well, you can't Trot do it!

"This is our first time-God willing, it won't be our last." "The young men that drove by yelling, 'Pro-choice, prochoice!' aren't thinking that this baby had no choice," said Sandy Korzick, pointing to her sign.

Mrs. Korzick reflected sadly that the women she works with as a lay minister at Project Rachel did indeed have a choice, but "They live with great regrets for the rest of their lives." About halfway through the stop, four very enthusiastic young adults from American Life League descended on Northern Parkway.

"We came to support Jack Ames and the Face the Truth Tour," announced Elizabeth Daub, editor of ALL's magazine, Celebrate Life.

Don Smith and several other members of Rock for Life, an ALL youth division, also joined in.

An African-American woman waiting at a bus stop was so impressed by a sign showing an 8-week-old unborn child, she told a pro-lifer, "My daughter is pregnant by a guy who is not worthy of her; but I will urge her to have the baby, even if she puts it up for adoption." The Baltimore stop was scheduled to end at 5:30, but "the large turnout, the high energy level and excitement, and the many friendly motorists motivated the pro-lifers to stay until 6:00.

Assault by water bottle

Pro-lifers split ranks on the morning of August 16, with a group of six demonstrating at the entrance to Aberdeen Proving Ground, while about 30 went to Bel Air.

In Bel Air, a well-dressed man came out of a bagel shop and shouted, "You're all a bunch of religious fanatics," "If I had a gun, I'd wipe a few of you out!" and other such pleasantries.

He walked up to Cathy Keller, demanded to know how many black babies she had adopted, then squirted her in the face with a water bottle and stalked off.

Cathy continued to say her Rosary. "Actually, the nice cold water felt good," she recalls with a laugh.

Heavy, Ocean City-bound traffic assured ample exposure to the Face the Truth signs and message at the Perryville noon stop and the Elkton dinner-time stop, both on Route 40.

In Wilmington, Del. , Defend Lifers set up their signs on the morning of August 17 in front of the headquarters of AstraZeneca, a pharmaceutical company that has used parts of aborted babies for research.

The noon stop at Dover, although small, turned out to be one of the better stops, says Jack.

Security police at Dover Mall disputed the pro-lifers' right to display their signs on the public sidewalk in front of the mall, resulting in the arrival of Dover police, several mall security vans, and a radio station reporter who smelled a good story-all of which attracted a lot of attention to the tour's antiabortion message.

Dover police told the pro-lifers they had a right to be there, and also tipped Jack off that the mall police were about to tow the Defend Life van from the mall parking lot.

Jack bounded over to the van and drove it off through a narrow gap between two security vans, just in time.

The tour ended on a less hair-raising note that evening in Annapolis, with a good turnout of about 40 pro-lifers near the State House, on Rowe Boulevard.

Face the Truth tours, with their admittedly blunt, "in your face" tactics, are controversial, even among some pro-lifers.

But tour leaders were heartened by the strong support of so many pro-lifers, churches, clergy, and prominent pro-life groups such as Human Life International, Priests for Life and American Life League-as well as by the positive reaction of a large segment of the public, to whom their message was directed.

"America is a visual society," says Jack. "Most people only learn by seeing pictures, as opposed to learning through the written or spoken word.

"Our pictures of aborted babies will be indelibly stamped on the psyches of thousands of people who would never otherwise have seen them.

"They will never think of abortion in the same way again."