Wichita, KS – Operation Rescue has begun mailing out postcards in the community of Wichita, Kansas, the home of its national headquarters, featuring a photo of an abortion victim overlaid across an image of the new abortion clinic that opened in April. The postcard has drawn the ire of one local man, who contacted television stations to express his pleasure at receiving the mailing.
Nathan Moore was upset that his 13-year old teenager checked the mail, discovered the postcard, and asked about the image. Moore told reporters that his son is now afraid to check the mail because of the post card.
Interestingly, reporters who interviewed Operation Rescue’s Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger about the postcard never told her that Moore’s son is 13. Instead, the reporters represented the teen to be a “young child.” Photo books displayed by Moore on one news broadcast depicted a boy that appeared about 8 years old.
“At the age of 13, this young man is old enough to be subjected to Planned Parenthood’s sex education in the schools. Perhaps within months, he could face peer pressure concerning teen sex. We see young ladies of his age, unfortunately, being taken into abortion clinics for contraception and abortions. It is entirely appropriate for 13-year-olds to ask questions about abortion,” said Sullenger. “The postcards are not meant to target minors, but in cases like this when we are talking about a teenager, this might be a ‘mole-hill’ turned into a ‘mountain.’ As a mother myself, and a former teacher, I suggest that if a 13-year-old teen is truly afraid to check the mail, perhaps there are other issues in his life that need to be addressed.”
Even more disturbing than the deception over the boy’s age was Moore’s insistence that the mailings are inappropriate or should be covered by envelopes.
“While some may not like it, the First Amendment allows for freedom of speech, and it certainly isn’t up to Mr. Moore to regulate how that speech is communicated. We find postcards such as this a very effective means of creating social tension that can lead to positive change in society. We understand that there will always be some who are offended, no matter the message,” said Sullenger. “But it’s a shame that this man seemed more concerned about garnering publicity than he was with the fact that human rights abuses in the form of the brutal dismembering of babies in the womb are occurring at the abortion clinic in Wichita. Unfortunately, he missed the entire point of the mailing.”
Sullenger continued, “I have been publicly displaying images of abortion victims publicly for about 30 years and exposed my own daughters to them at a far earlier age. By the time they were 13, they already had much experience offering help to women outside of abortions clinics and were helping to save babies from abortion. The result has been two very compassionate women who are now themselves loving mothers, so I know from experience that the images are not harmful to teens, and can actually be beneficial for instilling a deep value for human life.”
The abortion clinic that is the subject of the post card campaign is South Wind Women’s Center, which opened in April 2013, in the former site of George Tiller’s infamous abortion clinic. Prior to the opening of South Wind, Wichita, once considered the “Abortion Capital of America,” had been abortion-free for nearly four years.
Operation Rescue has filed complaints against the clinic and its operators with the Kansas Board of Healing Arts and the Federal Election Commission. Both cases remain open.
An investigation by Operation Rescue staff uncovered that improper expenditures were made by a Political Action Committee operated by South Wind owner Julie Burkhart, which covered daily operating expenses for the for-profit abortion clinic. That violation was later compounded with an attempt by South Wind to repay the expenditures as a “loan.” Such a business loan by a PAC is also in violation of FEC regulations. Already, Burkhart’s PAC has paid FEC fines totaling more than $4,000.
On Friday, an editorial by Sullenger was published in the Wichita Eagle addressing the dangers of Burkhart’s practice of employing an out-of-state abortionist with inadequate training and no hospital privileges.
“I know it is easier for folks to ignore the new abortion business in town and act like it doesn’t exist, but that denial will only lead to further lost lives of innocent babies along with the added human misery experienced by mothers who will inevitably regret their abortions,” said Sullenger. “We are working to inform the community about the truth of abortion and provoke the community to reject it and embrace life. As long as an abortion clinic continues to operate in Wichita, it will be our duty to continue to do so.”
