Operation Outcry (www.operationoutcry.org) is a non-profit project of the Justice Foundation dedicated to ending legal abortion by exposing its lies and offering the real truth of the devastation in the lives of thousands of women, men and families who have participated in an abortion. Operation Outcry uses the testimonies of women who have suffered from the trauma of abortion to help uncover the truth that abortion “strikes at the heart of a culture: the family.” Operation Outcry also utilizes prayer, a 24-hour hotline for hurting women and others, and training of individuals to speak in public venues and collect affidavits for the effort to end both the suffering and tragic consequences of abortion by ending abortion itself.

The Justice Foundation (www.txjf.org) was formed in 1993 to “protect the fundamental freedoms and rights essential to the preservation of American society.” It is a public-interest litigation firm and represents clients pro-bono.

There were about 20 people or more at different times on the conference call. The call was moderated by Rhonda Arias, the Texas State Leader of Operation Outcry. The call began with an opening prayer led by Caron Strong, the National Director of Operation Outcry and then a scripture reading by Ms. Arias.

At that point, Allan Parker was introduced and began to speak.

Allan told us about the lawsuit filed with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to overturn the Doe v. Bolton case (410 US 179 (1973). Doe v. Bolton is the decision by the high court which overturned the abortion law of Georgia in 1973 following the Roe decision. Together, Doe and Roe recognized abortion as a constitutional right.

The Petition for Writ of Certiorari in the Doe v. Bolton case was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on July 31st. The case was then docketed on August 2nd and the Supreme Court will conference and discuss their docket between now and September 25th. On that date, they will have their formal conference and begin the selection process for cases to be heard. Mr. Parker said that we will know sometime in the first week of October whether the high court will take the appeal.

Mr. Parker stated that although Roe v. Wade was not chosen, he feels highly optimistic that the Court will hear Doe v. Bolton. According to Mr. Parker, “for the first time, we will have thousands of affidavits from women documenting the pain, anguish and regret that abortion has caused them.”

Another topic of the conference call was the need for a Texas abortion ban. Mr. Parker said that Texas should pass a ban on abortion following the lead of South Dakota and Louisiana. There are two types of bans: an immediate ban on abortion, making it illegal in our state, and a trigger ban which is a ban that would immediately go into effect when Roe and Doe are overturned.

We also heard from Molly White with Operation Outcry regarding the need for a letter-writing campaign by individuals touched by abortion. Ms. White recently met with Texas House of Representative Phil King, R-Weatherford. It was a short meeting, but a fruitful one, according to Ms. White. She talked to Mr. King about pro-life issues and a ban on abortion in our state. She said that he “seemed intrigued” and wanted Ms. White to come up with a plan of action and bring it to him. Ms. White also spoke with Joe Pojman, Ph.D., Executive Director of Texas Alliance for Life, about his thoughts on an abortion ban. He is also very supportive of an abortion ban in Texas.

Finally, we heard again from Rhonda Arias with some action points on the letter writing. Ms. Arias believes that there needs to be common ground with all pro-life groups, and it needs to be “grassroots” in order to be effective. Ms. Arias said, “We have more unity than we might recognize . . . and we agree that it is the women’s voices that will make the difference.” She further stated that we must take our message to our legislators and “God will show us the rest of the way.” In order to bring our united voices to the forefront, each post-abortive woman needs to write a letter to her state representative and state senator asking for a commitment on an abortion ban, and giving our testimonies on how abortion has hurt us and, ultimately, all women and families. “The power is in our testimonies,” says Ms. Arias. She urged us to write these letters in our own handwriting and send them to our legislators and even follow-up with them, encouraging them to take a stand today for the lives of our future generations.

Submitted by Caryn Stevens
Director of Abortion AfterCare Healing Ministry
August 8, 2006