Mark Harrington

Christian | Pro-Life Activist | President @createdequalorg | Married '90

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Begging the question

I get tired of hearing students say because the foster care system is imperfect, we should kill unborn children so that foster parents don't raise them. This is begging the question by assuming that the unborn are not human because we wouldn't kill children who are currently in foster homes, simply because the environment they are in is imperfect.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Err on the side of caution

When there is uncertainty, it's better to be safe than sorry. That is even more relevant when we're talking about human life. So even though we know human life begins at fertilization killing the baby in ab0rtion we ought to err on the side of caution and provide the baby the right to life.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Open minded

This student gets a basic education on abortion procedures and whether abortion should be permitted in the case of sexual assault. Ab0rtion is an act of violence that compounds a mother's memory of the violence of her assault. Abortion never solves the memory of the rape. Only now she is the mother of a dead baby.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Defies decency

Some students have a reprobate mind. To even consider a picture of an abortion victim as pornography is so depraved that it defies common decency. We live in a very wicked world that it is dominated by the evil one. Please pray for spiritual revival.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

YouTuber kills her Down’s syndrome baby: millions are outraged.

2600 healthy babies killed each day: Silence.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

You possess it, they don’t

Discrimination is the unjust or prejudicial treatment of people based on characteristics such as race, gender, age, religion, or disability. Ab0rtion is age-based discrimination. Pro-abortion advocates arbitrarily select a trait to which they possess and use that to discriminate against others.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

A thousand words

It's hard to believe that college students have not seen actual abortion pictures. But it does occur. And when it does, the pictures have a profound impact. Debating abortion without visuals in fact, is mostly a waste of time. Why? Because we need to settle the facts that the baby's a baby and abortion is an act of violence that kills the baby. Words are inadequate to communicate that information.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Why does it matter?

A baby conceived by sexual assault or conceived in love both deserve the right to life. We wouldn't kill a born child conceived in violence, so we shouldn’t kill an unborn child conceived in violence. They are both human.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Groupthink

University campuses are supposedly the quintessential marketplace ideas. However, they become aspirants of groupthink. Few students are exposed to contrary ideas and, therefore, not taught to think critically. When we come to a university, we are the only people presenting the pro-life view. So, unfortunately, students try to censor us. That's why it's so critical that you use abortion victim photography.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Don’t trash our signs!

Students knock over our signs on a regular basis. We are trained NOT to protect equipment, but we WILL protect persons. In this case, at the University of Florida, a female student persisted in knocking down signs despite my urging her to stop.  Physically intervening in this case would only have made things worse; even using pepper spray, which we carry, to deter students from knocking over signs would be a bad idea because we would have been the ones accused of assault. So, we use utmost patience in those cases.

However, when students start destroying our signs and not just knocking them over, that may require a more defensive posture.

Despite calling the police, they often don't arrive in time to catch the perpetrator and charge them.

Bottom line: Our signs are replaceable, but our team members are not. Please pray for this student who more than likely was in involved in an abortion and needs forgiveness.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Arbitrary lines

Without a sound grounding in science, logic, and religion, students are left up to whatever seems right for each situation or what is referred to as situational ethics. When we are on campus, we are trying to point to objective criteria to defend our arguments. So, human life begins at conception. And there is no difference between who you were as an embryo and who you are as a grown human, other than age. Ab0rtion is ageism.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

What is your solution?

This student did not want me to videotape him. So, with respect, I shut off my camera and went on to explain to him that there was a better solution to an unplanned pregnancy than killing children.  We can start with the notion of parenting the child or placing the baby for adoption. But murder is a poor substitute for compassion.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Effective airborne messaging

Ab0rtion needs to be seen to be understood. Since every mass media platform will sensor the victim images of abortion we need to create our own mass media venues. Airborne advertising is one of them. Sports stadiums full of people and entire cities can be exposed to what abortion is with the use of this type of technology. With the midterm elections coming up, we plan on going to the battleground states with airplane tow banners and mobile LED billboards.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Ectopic pregnancy

The discussion over the life of the mother is one that students often are curious about. There is never a case where abortion is necessary... ever. Over 95% of all abortions are not done for health reasons. Abortion is not health care.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Killing a tree

This college student who claims to be a Christian is very confused. Unfortunately, he's not unlike many Christians these days. He lacks the basic understanding that we are made in the image of God and that is what gives us in intrinsic value and separates us from the rest of God's creation. This is a failure of the church and our pastors to train the flock and disciple the nations.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

A better way

Many Christians are ignorant of what the Bible teaches. And that is primarily because the shepherds have neglected to teach the whole counsel of God. Many pastors give excuses. They say they're about the preaching of the gospel, but they often don't even do that. Gospel conversation springs from discussing real-life issues people are dealing with. Abortion is the preeminent injustice of our time, and for pastors to ignore it is a tragedy of immense proportions.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

If the pictures are disgusting …

Why are people disgusted by pictures of abortion? Because abortion is disgusting! The ending of innocent human life has always been the epitome of evil. Somehow, our culture has wrongly convinced itself that abortion is different.

[Mark Harrington @markrharrington]

Interrogated by the police

“Free speech zones” are a modern construction of universities that want to limit First Amendment activities. That said, colleges can put time, place, and manner restrictions on speech. At the University of Virginia, however, we were on the public sidewalk, which we have a lawful right to access. However, rather than getting arrested and becoming a defendant in a court case, we chose to document what occurred, seek legal counsel, and revisit the issue afterwards. This strategy allows us to put together our case, and if necessary, to sue the university.

That said, we can't fight every legal battle; otherwise, we would be in court all the time and not on campus.