Graphics: A Mind Changed

The following was written by our 2023 Summer Intern Taylor Breeden.

Before the summer internship, I didn’t have a solid opinion on using graphic imagery to expose abortion. I had researched abortion and seen pictures, but I always felt icky at the thought of placing those images in the public square.

Now I do have a solid opinion: I very much dislike it. Let me explain.

CBR’s activism methods can be overwhelming. It’s difficult to feel like you’re doing good by showing something so horrible. I have found that nobody likes the abortion victim images; pro-lifers, pro-aborts, CBR employees, and passersby alike. Nobody feels completely comfortable with images of a dead baby – and they shouldn’t.

The whole point of our work is to expose the truth about abortion. And the truth is, it’s disgusting, so we should all be absolutely horrified when faced with it.

In A Letter from a Birmingham Jail, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. stated that “we… are not the creators of tension. We merely bring to the surface the hidden tension that is already alive. We bring it out in the open, where it can be seen and dealt with.” This statement completely changed my mind set on abortion graphics. Before, I thought it was just as disgusting to show the horror of abortion as it was to commit an abortion. I figured it only had a negative impact on the movement, making people turn away from the topic all together.

Once I read Dr. King’s words, I understood that we weren’t making people uncomfortable; abortion was.

After releasing the burden of guilt, CBR’s methods made perfect sense to me. I’ve even come to see it as a necessity in the pro-life movement. So, while I dislike showing graphic images of abortion victims to the public, I do it, because it must be done.