Honest disagreement is often a good sign of progress. - Mahatma Gandhi

Some emails we send describe seemingly overwhelming obstacles before the pro-life movement. This is not one of those emails. Read on to add a shot of hope to your morning coffee.

Last Sunday, my team and I launched Truth About Choice on the University of Massachusetts Amherst campus. Our large-scale memorial represented 49,450 lives lost to abortion, in 2024 alone, because of Massachusetts policies. The display, the first of its kind in the state, presented more than 24 thousand lifelike fetal models arranged to reflect the scale and prioritization of abortion in the Commonwealth. Several massive photo banners depicted an additional 25 thousand models. 

Our event began at noon. Both pro-life and pro-abortion attendees arrived; all were visibly moved by what they saw across the lawn. We heard emotional comments of gratitude from allies and unfounded assertions from others. Not one person showed apathy, however. Our display prompted thought and conversation among every single visitor.

As expected, many students who showed up presumed our intent was to “limit access” to abortion. A few dozen demonstrated, holding standard pro-abortion signs and shouting typical hostilities at us, again, determined to keep abortion legal. I explained to them, repeatedly, that the purpose of our display was not to change the law. 

We wanted to change hearts. 

After all, I told them, you cannot legislate love. And love is the only way to serve women in need and save innocent lives. Until our electorate experiences a radical change of heart, legislators will continue to worship abortion on demand. 

Truth About Choice aims to trigger an earthquake within the culture that opens eyes, prompts conversion and, one day, results in better-informed legislators who enact pro-life protections on Beacon Hill. 

One frequent set of remarks from antagonistic students related to the fetal models. Some referred to them as potatoes. Others vehemently disputed their veracity, alleging that embryos do not resemble our models, inch-long, medically-accurate replicas of human beings at 8 weeks gestation. Many young protestors looked on from a distance, sneered and balked, suggesting the models couldn’t even be taken seriously. One self-described environmentalist indicated their production likely threatened the planet.

By 12:20, I realized we were in for a very lengthy afternoon. I never would have guessed what they’d be shouting later on as we packed the models back up.

Later, after connecting with protestors outside our event perimeter and extending invitations to them to view the memorial, a group of reporters from The Collegian, the UMass student newspaper, approached. This gave me the chance to clarify several key points:

• In 2024, more Massachusetts abortions were sold to out-of-state women than to residents. The Truth About Choice display represents lives lost across the country because of Massachusetts.
• Since Governor Maura Healey enacted shield laws, an out-of-state woman who is tricked or coerced into ingesting mifepristone (abortion pill), or harmed by that drug when it’s shipped from Massachusetts, has no recourse. That prescriber, whose very identity is hidden from her, cannot be reached or held accountable if such tragedies occur.  
• The state of Massachusetts requires public colleges and universities like UMass to stock mifepristone in their health centers. Girls on campus are left alone to consume the pill, in campus housing, and to later pass deceased fetuses – not clots, not tissue – but recognizable unborn babies like the 8 and 12-week models in our memorial. Abortion providers do not prepare girls for what they will see. 
• We know from a national study published in 2023 by the Charlotte Lozier Institute that more than 70% of women who had abortions said that they would have given birth, had even one person offered to help them. 

In addition to presenting data, the purpose of Truth About Choice events this year is to show visitors that the pro-life movement supports women in their most desperate hours. That’s why pregnancy resource centers (PRCs) are joining us at these events. On Sunday at UMass, PRC staff members counseled many young people throughout the afternoon, at the students’ request. Many questions were answered in an atmosphere of comfort, understanding and judgment-free compassion, just as they are each day inside our state’s charitable PRCs. 

To attendees last Sunday, I also offered a critical acknowledgment:

What’s not on display at our Truth About Choice events are the aching hearts of every man and woman who lost a child to abortion. Visitors will not hear the grieving voices of those who were told to “shout” their abortions. Yet our events do seek to honor those who are healing from abortion. As we place each model, we mourn silently alongside parents, wherever they are across the country. 

By mid-afternoon, protestors finally accepted our invitation to join us inside the display. Still clinging to their slogans and signs, students nonetheless walked slowly among the thousands of models, picking them up, looking at their tiny limbs, voicing countless inquiries.

One common question we received related to how we organized the models by ethnicity. Because the state reports abortion data accordingly, we decided to place brown and white models on different tables. Students began to imply that doing so was discriminatory. Some were emboldened enough to gingerly transport handfuls of tiny brown models, placing them among white ones.

For a long while, an Asian student listened to me address various questions. His demeanor, like the others, was chilly and skeptical. At a pause in our conversation I asked for more questions. Seeming uncertain, he quietly spoke. His hesitancy conveyed to me, and perhaps to himself, that just by asking the question he’d be lending credibility to our entire effort. “Why are the Asians not on their own table but put with the other brown ones?”

UMass Amherst students had begun to perceive and name injustices before their eyes.  

The afternoon drew to a close, and our heroic crew of UMass student volunteers, MCFL board members, and western Massachusetts supporters began to pack up. Ever-vigilant, the student protestors, back outside the perimeter, kept on chanting. But this time, they didn’t chant about potatoes or make fun of us. Instead, students repeated, “Don’t segregate the babies!” 

Babies!

Our team witnessed great progress amidst disagreement. We are grateful to the University administration for courageously approving our event and for facilitating dialogue between disparate worldviews.

The event achieved its goals: productive discourse, changing perspectives, and increased recognition of the pro-life movement’s intentions within the campus community. If anything was internalized, we hope it’s that the pro-life viewpoint is rooted in love, values women and their unborn children, and offers support—not just pills—to frightened women. 

President Calvin Coolidge, a former western Massachusetts resident, once said, “Little progress can be made by merely attempting to repress what is evil. Our great hope lies in developing what is good.”

To all who supported Truth About Choice at UMass, including premier sponsor Knights of Columbus Council 1619, thank you. Every gift helped to develop the inherent good in each person who visited our event. 

Good reflects love. And where there is love, there is progress.

Enjoy your weekend and carry this hope forward.

Myrna

P.S. - We are just getting started! Truth About Choice will reach communities across the state this year. Your continued support will empower enduring progress for women and families.