Picture of aborted fetus to be flown over Cleveland

[WindyCityActor]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 12:39pm

How Surreal...

http://www.cleveland.com/news/plaindealer/index.ssf?/base/cuyahoga/115424828161830.xml&coll=2

Sunday, July 30, 2006
Mark Naymik
Plain Dealer Politics Writer

As a shock tactic, a national group that opposes abortion plans to fly a billboard-size picture of an aborted fetus over Cleveland beginning Monday.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, which frequently employs such attention-grabbing advertising, hopes to jar people into reconsidering their support of abortion, director Gregg Cunningham said.

He said the banner would be the most graphic picture ever displayed from the air.

"It will be categorically the most shocking we have ever done," he said. "The imagery is so horrifying that I can't almost stand to look at it."

Cunningham wouldn't describe the advertisement, which also displays a toll-free number to the organization. But he said the advertisement would compare an aborted fetus to a second graphic image related to the war in the Middle East.

"This thing just sucks the wind out of even me," he said.

The California-based group, which has an office in Columbus, is best known for displaying on college campuses giant photos of mutilated bodies of genocide victims or lynchings next to photos of aborted fetuses.

The group advocates nonviolence, but its displays often set off aggressive protests that result in vandalism and lead to arrests.

The group's nonprofit status prevents it from campaigning for candidates or ballot issues, but it is targeting Ohio because of its heated races for governor and other statewide offices. The group flew pictures above Cincinnati and Columbus in the weeks leading up to Ohio's May primary as part of its 2006 Key States Initiative.

Cunningham said the group is spending millions of dollars on the campaign, which he said is not political.

"We know from a great deal of market research that people who see what abortion does to a baby are less likely to support abortion rights," he said.

Comparing his campaign to the civil rights and anti-war movements, he said, "Social reform is driven by horrifying pictures of injustice."

Kellie Copeland, president of the NARAL-Pro Choice Ohio, a group that supports abortion rights, dismissed the banner campaign as a gimmick.

She said that if the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform "is really concerned about reducing the number of abortions, they should help us and other groups trying to reduce the number of unintended pregnancies, because that is what works."

Of the group's influence on this year's election, Copeland said, "I don't believe these tactics will have any impact at all."

To reach this Plain Dealer reporter:

[e-mail], 216-999-4849

Updated On: 7/31/06 at 12:39 PM

[blueroses]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 12:40pm

Classy.

[Dabadoll]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 1:10pm

"It will be categorically the most shocking we have ever done," he said. "The imagery is so horrifying that I can't almost stand to look at it."

He actually realizes this and is still planning to go through with this. That is absolutely disgusting and irresponsible, not everyone on the streets of Cleveland are voters who are pro-choice and I’m sure there are some children roaming around that probably don’t need those images in their head (Even though I’m not usually a supporter of the “what about the children” argument).

[Calvin]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 1:19pm

Not since Howard the Duck...

[opiv]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 1:21pm

Wow. That's nice.

[justagirl2]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 1:29pm

This reminds me of when I was driving to NYC a few years ago...we drove through a small town (I honestly can't remember which state it was), and there were images of aborted fetuses EVERYWHERE. Tons of people on the sidewalks had picket signs with them, and there were even pictures posted onto the sides of buildings. Now, I'm from the midwest, and I'm not overly liberal. But I could have done without that...I've never been so disgusted. So innapropriate.
Updated On: 7/31/06 at 01:29 PM

[ILoveMyDictionary]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 1:39pm

As much as I hate abortion, this is just immature. It's forcing unwanted images into innocent peoples minds. No one should be subjected to that.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 1:41pm

i can't wait for the headline..."shock and ewwwww"

[Calvin]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 1:45pm

Or "Plane Plummets Into Lake Erie"

[iflitifloat]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 2:23pm

Save the fetuses, but don't worry about 'em once they're born...

Just sayin'... These folks don't seem all that concerned about what happens to the unwanted and unloved children.

[jimnysf]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 2:25pm

"Save the fetuses, but don't worry about 'em once they're born...
Just sayin'... These folks don't seem all that concerned about what happens to the unwanted and unloved children."

So true!

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 2:36pm

That's disgusting. No one, even pro-choicers, like dead babies. This isn't going to prove anything except that abortion is a sad thing, which I think we all know.

I just wish we could sum up how a woman's life is f-cked up in just one image to fly over Cleveland in response.

[Calvin]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 2:39pm

I just wish we could sum up how a woman's life is f-cked up in just one image to fly over Cleveland in response.

[Fiction Writer]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 2:42pm

Calvin, I don't get it.

[jasonf]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 2:45pm

"Cunningham said the group is spending millions of dollars on the campaign, which he said is not political."

What does this mean?

[Rose_MacShane]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 3:24pm

This reminds me of those old Benetton ads. Remember the one that featured the man dying of AIDS?

[iHeartMyGeek]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:04pm

Did anyone else hear that really loud boom? Yeah, that was my head exploding.

It's like this guy is sitting there, laughing his head off, going, "Yeah, these pictures are pretty gross, huh? Let's put 'em on an AIRPLANE! THat's gonna change everyone's minds!"

If anything, it'll just prove what childish and immature scare tactics pro-lifers will go to to prove their point. Which, by the way, this isn't going to do. It will only further piss people off.

But I guess if you're gonna do it anywhere, Cleveland might as well be the guinea pig...

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:05pm

How do those of us lucky enough to not live in Cleveland see this graphic image?

[Calvin]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:13pm

You can go to Snopes and see the guy whose head fell off as he tried to climb over a large gate. That's a cooler picture, anyway.

[BSoBW2]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:23pm

Shoddy worksmanship.

[RachLaura]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:29pm

Maybe we should show a video of a woman getting raped to all these people and then see how they feel about whether or not she should be allowed to have an abortion. Idiots.

[broadwayjavajunkie]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:48pm

I have panic attacks if I watch the news...I'm sure if I lived in Cleveland I would end up hospitalized. They have a right to their opinion, but this seems over-the-top. Surely there is a better way for them to get their point across.

Then I could disagree with them WITHOUT IVs in me.

[GuyfromGermany]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:56pm

Reminds me of the "Holocaust" campaign started by PETA...
Just as classy!

[PalJoey]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 4:57pm

These so-called Christians stand outside NBC Studios at Rockefeller Center from time to time with their now-fraying placards showing huge blow-ups of aborted fetuses. Their protests backfire on them. People who consider themselves against abortion walk away disgusted.

I just look them in the eyes as I pass them on my way to and from work and whisper, "Jesus hates you, you know. He hates what you do."

[SorryGrateful]

Posted: 7/31/06 at 5:13pm

Because Jesus obviously speaks directly to them. Sinner. Burn in hell, PJ. Hell, I tells ya!