NRL News
Page 1
March 2009
Volume 36
Issue 3

An Update on Stopping Obama’s Abortion Agenda
By Dave Andrusko

We devoted the entire January issue to one critically important theme: Stopping Obama’s Abortion Agenda. All the tools were there, from how to use social networks and the web in general, to church bulletin inserts, to the petition, to “e-mail trees,” to how to join and/or start a local pro-life group, to how best to utilize the enthusiasm and sincerity of young pro-lifers, to name just a few.

I promised myself and Jacki Ragan, director of NRLC’s State Organizational Development Department, that every two months NRL News would update you on how well our three-pronged strategy is going. It consists of (1) finding as many pro-lifers as possible; (2) getting them organized; and (3) welcoming them on board as members of National Right to Life.

What follows are my questions and Jacki’s responses:

Q: What signals have you gotten from the grassroots that they are ready to gear up to fight the Obama Abortion Agenda?
A: An avalanche of “what can I do?” or “how can we make a difference?” questions coming from phone calls, e-mails, snail mails, and other ways. A typical question (and one that is pivotal to our success) is, “What is the closest chapter to me, and if there isn’t one, can you send me stuff to start one?” Honestly, I have two people checking my assistant’s voice mail because there are so many calls. E-mails routed to our department from www.nrlc.org are running about triple to quadruple what they normally do. There is enormous interest out there.
And that includes a lot of “buyer’s remorse.” On January 22, I happened to answer the front desk phone, and it was a pastor. He said, “What have I done?” As we talked, he told me that he had voted for Obama and that now he realized the mistake he had made. And that was before Obama had done anything to show just how pro-abortion he is. The interest is definitely there, from ordinary citizens and from churches. So far I think we have done a good job channeling that determination to accomplish the most good. Without giving out a specific number, we have mailed out an enormous number of “action packets” explaining what people need to do now!

Q: You have your finger on the pulse of the grassroots better than anyone. From your correspondence, what about the new Obama Administration most annoys pro-lifers and why?
A: People are infuriated by the Obama mantra that he “wants to reduce abortion” and then three days after he is inaugurated he abolishes the Mexico City Policy. That means we are going to fund groups dedicated to increasing the number of abortions internationally.  Honestly, Obama and his Administration would be better off saying they are for and will promote and pay for abortion on demand, for any reason, at any point during pregnancy. And how about embryo-destructive research? It is a lie—the idea that medical progress depends on funding research that kills human embryos—and it comes across as a lie.

Q: In the January issue we talked a lot about www.nrlcchapters.org, the importance of church bulletin inserts, and how pro-lifers must become dues-paying members of NRLC. What’s been the response?
A: Good, to all three. If I may I’d like to focus on becoming a member of NRLC. (See page 21.) We believe that it is truly the first step to getting involved and making a real difference in the fight to save unborn babies. It is vital to feel “ownership” in National Right to Life and receive National Right to Life News, the source of pro-life news.
We have been very systematic about this. With every order we receive, or every one of the dozens of requests for “Stop the Obama Abortion Agenda” petitions we receive daily [see the centerfold], we send the NRLC membership card along with a note. If they are already an NRLC member, we ask them to please pass it along to someone else. We asked for church sponsorships and have had an excellent response to that as well.

Q: What else can you tell the 360,000+ readers of NRL News that will give them a sense of how the battle to Stop Obama’s Abortion Agenda is going?
A: We have established a web site, www.stoptheabortionagenda.com, and are encouraging folks to monitor it daily. We have mailed out the first “Action Packet” and will likely have another one in mid-April. We are encouraging attendance at National Right to Life’s convention in June so that they can learn firsthand the latest information and be motivated to get on board. [See page 5.] We are also explaining that people should not be lulled into a false sense of complacency just because the radically pro-abortion FOCA does not seem like an immediate threat. Pro-abortionists are shrewd. They could try to pass it later on, or enact it piece-meal. We need to be hyper-vigilant, which is why we encourage daily visits to www.stoptheabortionagenda.com.
 

Finally, we are asking all our pro-life friends to help us solicit e-mail addresses so that when we do need to reach out to these folks, we can do so quickly and without a great cost to NRLC. First of all, be sure to send in your own e-mail address to jragan1@aol.com. Second, send in (with their permission of course) the e-mail addresses of five pro-life friends. Contact fellow pro-lifers from your church and ask their permission to give us their e-mail addresses. We try very hard to be very frugal with your donations and this will help us tremendously in our efforts to maximize getting alerts out.

If you need additional information, e-mail me at jragan1@aol.com, or Luis at Luis@nrlc.org, or Jonathan at Jonathan@nrlc.org. We truly appreciate your efforts, your excitement, and your willingness to get the job done!