By Liz Townsend
From Mexico to Latvia to Australia, the truth about fetal development and the humanity of the unborn is being told by the "Little One Sweet" posters, developed by the Archdiocese of Baltimore's Respect Life Office. The posters can now be found in schools, pregnancy centers, and churches around the world.
After an article about the posters appeared in the July 2001 issue of NRL News, other newspapers picked up the story. "We received calls from as far away as Australia," Linda Brenegan, administrative assistant of the Respect Life Office, told NRL News. "Within six months of the first printing, all of them were gone. People seem intrigued by the gentle, soft images of the babies."
There are now 10 individual posters, as well as one large poster that includes all nine months of the unborn baby's development. Each poster features a pastel portrait of a baby, drawn by Brenegan based on actual photographs of children in the womb. The accompanying text gives a quick summary of the milestones reached by the baby. The newest poster is for Day One, which shows a one-celled person with the words, "I'm here!"
Brenegan told NRL News she dedicated her work to the babies in the original photographs, whom she learned were aborted after their pictures were taken. "I prayed that God would make each of my drawings beautiful so people's hearts would be filled with tenderness."
And that seems to be happening. "Even people who are 'pro-choice' love the posters," Brenegan insisted. "The babies' lives were so short but they're touching the hearts of so many people."
The posters are available in seven languages: English, Spanish, Italian, French, Polish, Latvian, and Hungarian.
Brenegan and her husband presented Pope John Paul II with the posters during an audience in Rome on May 14, 2003. "The Holy Father is such an advocate for the dignity of each human person," she said. "Through the posters, we're taking his message to heart."
Brenegan said that the pope was thrilled to receive the posters. "He had a huge smile on his face," she recalled. "His smile got even bigger when he realized the poster was written in Polish."
The archdiocese sent 500 of the Polish-language sets to the pro-life movement in Poland.
Many sets have been sent to Latvia and can be found in schools across that formerly Communist country. The abortion rate in that country is extremely high, since abortion is routinely used as birth control. P.J. Elkins, an American who often travels to Latvia to speak about the aftermath of abortion, hands out the posters as part of her ministry. "The Latvians are hungry to learn the truth," Brenegan said. "Amazingly, teachers want the posters for their classrooms, even in public schools."
The archdiocese is presenting Spanish-language poster sets to parishes in Mexico. "Priests and bishops love them," Brenegan said. "They can't wait to get them into parishes."
The posters have also been made into a brochure that pregnancy centers can give to women contemplating abortion.
More information and images of the posters can be found on the Internet at http://www.archbalt.org/respect-life/posters/. To order, call Linda Brenegan at the Respect Life Committee at (410) 547-5537 or send an e-mail to life@archbalt.org.