The Power of Pro-Life Images & Testimonies

​Have you ever seen images or videos of aborted babies? It can be one of the most depressing, sickening situations ever to view that severed, broken body of a baby, but it is sadly an important part of the pro-life movement today. The first time I truly saw the grave reality of abortion through images and videos was at a pro-life leadership camp, and it was a horrible reality shock. I had seen graphic images of abortion before when I was young, but I was too little too understand. But during that camp, at that moment, it hit me. Children were being killed. Innocent babies. Those images will forever be burned in my brain, and I will never not tear up at the thought that over 3,000 babies will be thrown in the trash looking exactly like those babies in the images. I would like to venture that it is very difficult to truly understand the grave nature of abortion without these images and videos and here is why. We live in a culture of images and stories. We are bombarded with images constantly every day through social media, movies, advertisements...you name it. Since everything is communicated through images, it would make sense to say that we learn through visuals. Furthermore, we are a society that also learns through stories, not reason, unfortunately. Often times, people want to believe something that tugs at their heart strings rather than a bunch of scientific evidence. This is a huge reason why pro-choice advocates today are so successful. They are very good at creating a story and image in our mind that is impossible not to empathize with of a broken, single teen mother who is in an unplanned pregnancy, was kicked out of her parents' home, and has no means of supporting herself on top of a pregnancy. (note the tactic of mentioning a pregnancy but not a child) Naturally, the pro-life movement is going to sound absurd and evil for wanting that teen mother to keep up her pregnancy. Well, we have a huge archive of photos, videos, and testimonies that we can use as well. The thing is that they are much more unsettling, disturbing, and heart wrenching, and while often times, these images and stories do convert hearts, many pro-lifers refrain from using them because they are so graphic. While I believe graphic images should be used with discretion and warning (side note: never force graphic images on someone without his or her consent), they speak a thousand times louder than words or reason and do a much better job of showing the reality of abortion. And if you want to be a pro-life leader or advocate, I would recommend you observe these images, videos, and testimonies through trusted sites. You can never truly fight evil if you do not understand the true nature and reality of it, and few will resist evil if they do not discover or understand its true nature. I'd like to end with an example using the photo at the top of this post. This is one of my favorite photos. It shows German soldiers watching footage of the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Look how some of them can barely watch. Others are openly grieving. Many of them had no idea this was what they were supporting and fighting for. The shock and grief is so obvious in the photo. They had no idea. Friends, this is society today. Many do not understand the true nature of abortion because they have not been shown its nauseating evil, just like those soldiers. Yes, coming face to face with the reality of our culture of death is horrible, it's depressing, and it leaves us feeling hopeless and in tears. But this is exactly why we need to use these images. If society truly understood the nature of abortion, abortion would not be legal. So even though it will be difficult, do not neglect to use images and testimonies when sharing the truth about abortion. I strongly believe the thousands of images, videos, and testimonies we have could change the hearts of many.

Helen is a graduating high school senior with a strong passion for the pro-life movement. As the founder of The Pro-Life Generation, she hopes to help create passionate, informed leaders of tomorrow in order to create a culture of life. In her spare time, she also enjoys playing her violin, debating her faith and beliefs, and brushing up on her history and great books