Iowa Billboard Campaign Highlights Abortion's Physical, Emotional Costs: Speaking Truth in Response to the Lies

Lisa Bourne : Apr 9, 2019
LifeSiteNews.com

"We HAD to respond to Planned Parenthood's outrageous billboard campaign. We have to show the true side of abortion; that it certainly is NOT healthcare, it hurts women, and destroys lives." – Maggie DeWitte

(Des Moines, IA) — [Lifesitenews.com] An Iowa pro-life coalition's response to a Planned Parenthood PR campaign to normalize abortion has resonated with people, its leaders say, by telling the truth about abortion through the stories of mothers who've survived it. (Photo Credit: LifeSiteNews)

"My abortion caused physical and emotional trauma," a mother named Tori from the Quad Cities says, alongside her picture on a billboard as part of the #SayLifeIowa imitative.

"No one should force you to abort," says Serena in her testimony.

The billboards are a response to Planned Parenthood's "Say Abortion" billboard campaign launched earlier this year with the goal of "breaking the cycle of silence and stigma" around abortion in the state.

The Planned Parenthood billboards contain photos of women saying, "I had an abortion," the messages then ending with "and I am not ashamed," "and it was just health care" or "and I am not apologizing."

"We HAD to respond"

Iowans for LIFE (IFL) reacted with revulsion to Planned Parenthood's billboard campaign, the group's board president, Tom Quiner, told LifeSiteNews.

"We immediately raised funds to counter with our own billboard campaign which mimics Planned Parenthood's look," Quiner said, "but with the other side of the abortion position displayed."

IFL executive director Maggie DeWitte said she was compelled to call Quiner about answering the abortion giant's campaign to normalize abortion.

"We HAD to respond to Planned Parenthood's outrageous billboard campaign," DeWitte told LifeSiteNews. "We have to show the true side of abortion; that it certainly is NOT healthcare, it hurts women, and destroys lives."

After DeWitte spoke with Quiner, his company, Breakthrough Marketing, put together a test billboard using DeWitte's photo and posted it to Facebook with the caption:

"Abortion can't be healthcare, because someone dies."

The caption, Quiner said, is a direct response to Planned Parenthood's deceitful billboard stating, "I had an abortion, and it was just healthcare."

"The response to our Facebook post was phenomenal," he said.

The post generated comments such as:

"I would totally give towards this effort if it is to be a billboard campaign."

"We had made no reference to billboards in our Facebook post," Quiner told LifeSiteNews, "but our followers really wanted to see it happen, and so we sprang into action."

Support for the pro-life message

IFL put together an appeal letter at the same time putting sample billboard images on social media.

"Our supporters responded immediately," DeWitte told LifeSiteNews. "People were very upset at the Planned Parenthood messages and were so thankful that the pro-life movement was responding with the truth."

"The response has been wonderful," she said. "Not only are people willing to donate, they are very supportive of our messaging."

"There are a lot of other wonderful pro-life billboards around town with positive messages like, "real men love babies," said Quiner.

"We went a different direction," he said. "Our billboards are a direct rebuttal to Planned Parenthood's messaging by presenting the reality of the pain, violence, and degradation of human abortion."

A pro-life coalition works together

Iowans for LIFE worked in union with the Iowa Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders to quickly develop the response with a special webpage and the hashtag #SayLifeIowa.

The Coalition formed two years ago among almost a dozen pro-life organizations to provide a more effective and unified message in educating on abortion and working to pass pro-life legislation.

Several groups in the Coalition of Pro-Life Leaders have committed funds to the project, with several more set to make financial contributions in the coming months.

The coalition is hopeful that its campaign will last as long as Planned Parenthood continues to have billboards in Iowa.

It was just over a month from the first call to the first four billboards going up.

Women voice the truth about abortion

The pro-life group enlisted help in the project from Luana Stoltenberg of Operation Outcry and Laura Limmex of Restored by Grace, both local post-abortive ministries, to find out whether any of the women they worked with would be interested in sharing their picture and message on Iowa billboards.

Both groups responded with a resounding yes, and began sending IFL pictures and stories of women harmed by their abortion.

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