A Valentine

 "My friend saw your web site in the middle of the night. ... She was considering an abortion. Anyway, it changed her mind."

At The Elliot Institute, we often hear comments like this about how evidence of abortion's risks, injustices and harm to women will change the hearts and minds of those who consider or coerce abortion.

We hear from women who've been there who want to warn others. And we also hear from those who still need a helping hand, or just need to know that others understand about coercion, discrimination and other injustices, injuries and post-abortion heartbreak surrounding a past abortion. 

We can never fully know the ripple-effects of any single or sustained outreach. But it matters!

This Valentines Day, you can change lives, hearts and souls forever by sending a quiet and compassionate ambassador into someone's world. It's an unusual, but powerful valentine to someone you'll likely never know who really needs to receive it.

It's not chocolate. It's not flowers. It doesn't come from Hallmark, but it comes from the heart.

It comes in many forms. It's a message card left in a church, an office or a bus depot. It's a classified ad in your bulletin, a book donated to a library, an affordable quarter-page black-and-white newspaper ad run repeatedly in a selected publication. It's a donation to support research, education and outreach, or a city-wide campaign that will reach thousands.

It's a letter to the editor, a pastor or a politician. It's a shared ad or flyer, such as What Every American Needs to Know - a good, general introduction to important new evidence of widespread unwanted or coerced abortion and aftereffects.

This Valentines Day, remember the children and the mothers so often forgotten and reach those still at risk.

Our compassionate series of healing ads, message cards and educational materials can reach those already hurt and those still at risk. At the same time, this message will help educate the coercers and the public about unwanted abortions and untold heartbreak before or after abortion.

You can change hearts, lives and souls - and even the course of our nation.  

By documenting and raising awareness of the human rights abuses and risks to both, we have saved many lives - two or more at a time.

But many women, men and families didn't hear the right message at the right time or didn't find the right answers and help when they needed it. Many turned to a friend, a family, a counselor, a physician, school authority, or even a trusted pastor and were falsely informed, coerced or told abortion was their "only" option. .

No compassion. No helping hand. No counseling. No referrals. Just a "one-way" sign that pointed to a cliff. 

Still other women have been silenced, dismissed, fired, locked up, tied up, turned away from shelters, divorced, beaten or killed, when they resisted abortion.
 

In Massachusetts, an abortion clinic security guard testified that the biggest aggressors at abortion clinics are men accompanying their wives and girlfriends. In some cases, these men were the woman's abusers ... angered that a pregnancy would expose their crime.

Whether it is the office of a misguided guidance counselor, the halls of a hospital or the interior of a clinic where women seek answers, not deception or pressure to abort ... little or no authentic counsel, referrals or screening takes place. 

You can let those who've been there they're not alone, that we're working to replace the injustices with authentic support, and that hope is possible. 

Send one or an entire "bouquet" of cards, bookmarks, ads or flyers.

 Most of these materials feature a beautiful stained-glass rose to symbolize that - even though things will never be the same - God can restore broken lives, hearts and souls. This is a beautiful message to share on Valentine's Day or at any time throughout the year.

You can help spread this message by running one of our healing ads or flyers. These ads are available free of charge (although donations are needed and appreciated), so all you have to pay are for the costs of running or distributing the ad. You can make copies of the flyers to post, distribute or stuff in a bulletin or newsletter. Run them as an ad in a newspaper or other publication. We also have bookmarks that can be downloaded and printed by using a color printer or taking them to a local print shop.

We also have an array of healing and educational business-card sized ads that can be printed as cards and distributed or run as small ads. Plan ahead, too, to run or distribute our compassionate and educational Mothers Day ads or flyers.

While all of these materials are available free of charge, we need your help to continue this effort. Please support this campaign in any way you can and encourage your friends and community leaders to visit our web site, sign up for this e-newsletter and network with us through Facebook and Twitter.

Keep reading to see how you can plan ahead to use our healing ads and materials to educate the public, deter the coercers and encourage those who are hurting and forgotten on Mothers Day. 

As an added bonus, you'll also learn how you can be eligible to win a free box of chocolates!