Jackson County Right to Life
Changing Hearts . . . Saving Lives
Jackson County Right to Life Projects --- Current Needs & A Short History
We would like to introduce you to our chapter by sharing with you what we have done. This, better than anything else, will give you a flavor for what our chapter is about and what we consider important. It will also give you a flavor for what you could become a part of if you decide to join us.
But before we look to the past, we need to look briefly at our hopes for the near future. The new political landscape is very hostile to all that pro-lifers have been striving for over the past 36 years. It’s more important now than it ever has been to marshal our forces in organized opposition to the new pro-abortion administration. Normal attrition (death, relocation, job changes, family changes, etc.) has shrunk our numbers to a fraction of what they were ten years ago. We need at least two dozen additional members and the new ideas and energy that they would bring. We would also like to see some pro-life SOU students as new members.
We ask that you prayerfully consider if you can carve out 1 ½ hours each month to join us in active membership.
And now, here is where we want to go and where we’ve been:
Life Talk is a pro-life television program produced monthly by Life Dynamics (www.LifeDynamics.com). In it, host Mark Crutcher provides the pro-life community with the latest news on the abortion battle, interviews pro-life leaders around the country, and takes questions from the studio audience on this most critical moral issue of our day. Life Talk is sent out monthly on DVD to subscribers and is ready to be placed on cable TV. Life Dynamics also offers a quarterly one-hour special, free to broadcasters that want to air quality pro-life programming.
We have an opportunity to flood the local airwaves (free of charge) with pro-life programming on Rogue Valley Community Television (RVTV), a community resource of SOU. RVTV produces and distributes community, campus, and student-made TV programs for playback on four local cable channels and two wireless channels. There are many open and unused time slots on these four channels, and this represents a huge wasted opportunity for the pro-life community.
Other pro-life TV programming exists that could also be placed through RVTV.
RVTV programming is managed by SOU, and SOU would train our chapter member in what to do and how to do it using the SOU broadcast facilities in Ashland. That chapter member would then be appropriately trained so that pro-life programming that we obtain from outside pro-life sources is formatted properly for RVTV (ready to broadcast to meet their criteria). Are you that reliable, trainable, committed pro-lifer? If you think you might be the ONE, please contact us! Imagine what a difference you could make, if YOUR donation of time allowed us to be able to flood the cable airwaves with pro-life programming, both for basic cable packages as well as premium cable packages.
HISTORICAL ACTIVITY
ONE-TIME PROJECTS
Love Life Conference (assisting Josephine County Right to Life)
In 2003, our chapter assisted Josephine County RTL in hosting the Love Life Conference, in which we brought in pro-life speakers from around the country to address a sizeable crowd of pro-lifers. It was educational and uplifting!
In late 2004, Planned Parenthood opened a large new facility across from the community college in downtown Medford that received a lot of positive media attention. Our chapter, with the assistance of ORTL’s design firm and KDOV radio, decided to counter with a full-page display signature ad in the Medford Mail Tribune. The cost of the design work was borne by ORTL, as they saw the opportunity to re-use the ad layout in other communities. The total cost of the project for us (the advertising cost of approximately $3,000) was borne by $5 donations from signers. As an added bonus, the ad itself generated on additional large donor, who paid for the ad to be run a second time at a later date.
In May 2005, our chapter decided to take advantage of statistics indicating that an overwhelming majority of women contemplating abortion who are able to see an ultrasound of their baby change their minds. We partnered with a local private ultrasound business with the goal of providing basic ultrasounds free of charge to pregnant women who would otherwise seek a free ultrasound from Planned Parenthood. We wanted for all local women to be able to receive an ultrasound in a pro-life setting where they could be advised of pro-life options. Our chapter would pay the modest cost of the ultrasounds.
The fundraising kick-off took place in May 2005, at which time we conducted a radio telethon on local KDOV (Christian radio station) and raised over $15,000 in 10 hours. After a period of time during which various women received free ultrasounds and we paid the cost to our ultrasound partner, the ultrasound business relocated and we were left with no way to spend our funds.
In 2008, we decided to offer our Operation Ultrasound funds as a matching contribution to assist with Rogue Valley Pregnancy Resource Center’s effort to raise funds for an ultrasound machine. Stay tuned on our website for updates…
Annual County Fair Booth
This is our primary method of pro-life educational outreach. We have a variety of pro-life materials, displays & videos for all ages. For years, we have used ORTL’s fetal model display, showing fetal development through the nine months of gestation. It provides a great teaching moment for families who come by with their children, and our volunteers are there to answer questions and provide information.
Every January, our chapter commemorates the babies lost to abortion since Roe v. Wade with a Rally at the Hall of Justice in Medford. The rallies feature music by Cascade Christian High School Choir, different speakers, and the annual award of Pro-Life Champion of the Year. In recent years, we have also awarded those in attendance who have survived Roe v. Wade (those born after 1973) with a Precious Feet pin.
Sponsored by ORTL as part of a national contest, and held in February & March, the School Essay, Drawing & Oratory Contests have an annual theme. A chapter volunteer has organized the local Drawing & Essay contests. Our chapter forwards older students who are interested in the Oratory Contest to Josephine County RTL for their Oratory Contest. The contests are organized by age, with children having the opportunity to apply their imagination to the year’s theme. Our members judge the entries at a chapter meeting. Winning entries are forwarded to ORTL for judging at the state level, and state winners move forward to national competition.
In 2002, our chapter decided to institute an annual raffle to raise funds to better support our annual fair booth and other educational activities. We sell 250 tickets for $10 each, and one winner wins a $1,000 gift card to the local mall. After expenses, we raise approximately $1,350.
Each October, in conjunction with the National Life Chain, pro-lifers gather at McAndrews & Biddle (our busiest intersection in the Medford area) to pray silently and publicly for an end to abortion. A chapter member oversees this effort.
StandUpGirl.com Banquet
Starting in 2005, ORTL has held a benefit banquet at the Rogue Valley Country Club to raise funds for its highly successful pro-life website StandUpGirl.com. Attended by pro-lifers from a two-county area, the event includes the latest information about the interactive website. The most recent banquet was held in October 2008.
Each October, ORTL holds a benefit auction in Portland. For the past several years, our chapter has participated by putting together an auction package, typically lodging and dinner at a desirable location in Southern Oregon.
Billboard Ads
Our chapter has received generous donations from local pro-lifers that have allowed us to fund pro-life billboard ads at different times. One of our billboards coincided with the kick-off of the pro-life organization Silent No More. Other billboard ads have been placed in election years (Vote Pro-Life). In 2008, with the assistance of three generous donors, we were able to place four Vote Pro-Life billboard ads.
An offshoot of Operation Ultrasound, this website is designed to reach young women searching the Internet for information about pregnancy, and provide pro-life content. The specific goal of the website is to be “under the radar”, not being identifiable as pro-life until the viewer is on the website and “hooked.” This has been of limited success, due to the lack of a project manager who is skilled at Internet marketing. The project remains ongoing, despite dismal website activity, as we hope to gain new member/s with those skills who could market it more effectively.
In 2005, one of our chapter’s members spearheaded a project to ensure that pro-abortion letters to the editor always have a pro-life response. This has been very successful, and the project manager emails participants pro-life and pro-abortion letters appearing in various Oregon newspapers for the opportunity to respond.
One of our members oversees email communication with local pro-lifers. Her efforts ensure that our pro-life community keeps abreast of local pro-life efforts.