If you’ve been following us on Facebook, you might have heard about the Spirit of Liberty Conference that took place October 31st in Southfield, MI. Nullify Abortion helped sponsor the event.
We managed to collect a fair amount of new signups for our newsletter — over 18 percent of all who attended. We also gave out a ton of brochures and had the opportunity to talk with a lot of people who.
Takeaway
We estimated a good third of the people we spoke with were pro-life. They were generally the most excited to see us there. Another third were indeterminable or seemingly apathetic to the issue. Another third seemed outwardly put-off by our presence and we had a handful of vigorous debates. Overall, just about everyone was friendly and respectful — we never ask for more than that!
Many were excited just to see the nullification movement manifesting itself in another cause. As one conference goer said, “Twenty years ago, if you mentioned nullification, people would have no idea what you were talking about. Fast forward today, and we have groups like yours with it right in the name.”
Division
There is a lot of inconsistency within the Conservative and especially Libertarian movements when it comes to the issue of abortion. In my conversations with several dissenters at the conference, I noticed a lot of inconsistent and contradictory statements. In one statement, they would say they understand “the whole protecting an innocent human life, buuuut….”
It was emotionally wearing to hear how callous people could be towards vulnerable children. You expect that online. However, you don’t expect it when you’re face to face with a person and they outwardly appear to have no problem taking away the life of a child for convenience or as some magic solution to taking away the pain of rape (which it doesn’t, by the way.)
The problem, I believe, boils down to a single understanding. If you don’t believe that life begins at conception, than you must protect the “personal liberty” of the woman to decide what she does with her body. However, if you believe that a human begin begins at conception, then you recognize that baby inherently has rights and his or her personal liberty — the right to live being the most basic — must be protected.
And libertarians are split on this issue. One source told me they believed that the libertarian movement is liable to split on it after achieving their goals of downsizing government.
There should be very little question on the manner. Science clearly states that you’re a human being at the moment of conception.
Funding
A major obstacle to furthering our message has been funding. The Spirit of Liberty Conference required us to dig deep into our own pockets to pay for all of the materials needed including:
- Banner
- Brochures
- paper
- ink
- printing (which we did in house to the chagrin of our printer)
- Sample t-shirts
- Table cloth
- Laminated catalog sheets
- Gas to get there
- Newsletter Entry Receipts
- Hoodie fro the Hoodie Giveaway
We’d like to thank Serving Our Savior and Shane Trejo of the Michigan Tenth Amendment Center for helping offset our costs.
If you would like to help us continue to do what we’re doing (and if you want to see us expand) we need your help today. You can make a one time donation or you can purchase merchandise through the Nullify Abortion Online Store.
Be aware, we only make a few dollars on each shirt, even at the suggested price. Most of the cost goes into making the shirt. Don’t let that stop you. We want people wearing our shirts and sharing the message!
Looking Forward
We would like this to be the first of many experiences where we get a chance to engage people directly and share our message. Your prayers, financial support and time are vital to ending abortion. We need you to make a difference.
If you have an event that you would like to see Nullify Abortion at, or if you’d like me to come and speak to your group about what we’re trying to do, get in touch with us through our contact page.
Updated 2022/12/16
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