'This gets people's attention like nothing else'

Mark Harrington in front of his “Created Equal” video display. (Photo by Anita Crane)

WASHINGTON – Despite sleet and bitter cold, many pro-life Americans in Washington for the March for Life, as well as people from other countries, stopped to watch the video "Created Equal" as it played on a jumbo screen on Constitution Avenue near Fourth Street NW. One of the attractions was the imagery of Martin Luther King Jr. and his voice echoing a few blocks in surrounding areas.

Mark Harrington, executive director of Created Equal in Columbus, Ohio, produced the stunning video by the same name and it begins by warning viewers of graphic and disturbing images of "severe injustice."

"Our hope is that young people will be reminded and reaffirm their commitment to defend life – why they're at the march. In many respects, the march doesn't represent the victims," Harrington told WND. "If you go to the March for Life, there's a lot of speeches, the march is good, a lot of young people, a lot of positive stuff. But, for the most part, abortion victims aren't represented and so we're representing the victims. People need to be reminded that violence [of abortion] is happening every day."

A group of Catholic teens stopped to ponder the video, with one boy exclaiming, "It's cool." However, the youth leader from their St. Louis, Mo., parish refused to let them be interviewed.

Prior to arriving in Washington, representatives of a Catholic church in Atlanta had complained to Harrington in fear that his public display would upset children.

Jill Stanek, activist, speaker and vigilant blogger at JillStanek.com, was bundled in layers fitting of her hometown Chicago when she came upon the "Created Equal" video scene. Stanek, of course, was a registered nurse at Christ Hospital in Oak Lawn, Ill., when she discovered abortions were being committed there and babies who survived abortions were being left to die without medical care.

She told WND, "I think this is an important movement forward. It's just the next place that we have to go and I'm just grateful to Created Equal for the video. Some people aren't going to like it, but it's the truth and everybody needs to see it – you don't forget when you see the product of an actual abortion and it changes hearts. The normal complaint is going be about kids seeing it. But in the end, I'd rather have kids see these photos than be in one of these photos."

"I think people need to see abortion to understand what it is – even the people who are here marching. A lot of them don't know why they're here," Darius Hardwick from Columbus, Ohio, told WND. "I didn't understand abortion until I saw it. Even pro-life Christians need to see it to change their minds. This gets people's attention like nothing else."

The Created Equal website has a video posted, but viewers are advised of the graphic nature of the presentation.

Sheila Dahlberg from Redding, Pa., paused to watch the video several times. She told WND, "I think this video is an eye-opener for a lot of people. I've seen abortion pictures before, but this is really graphic."

"This video is the reality of abortion," said Gail Krug.

Referring to abortion, Krug told WND, "Just nurses see this and it's awful. I don't know how anybody can do this kind of work. I'm from New City, N.Y., and nobody ever sees the enormity of the March for Life. I'm just amazed every time I come."

Donald Simmons, an author and publisher who shows people abortion victims in some of his works, agreed. He came from Troy, Ala. to march with friends from all over the United States and one from Holland.

"Knowing that people aren't buying lies anymore is the kind of thing that 'Created Equal' brings to light," Simmons told WND. "Thank God for videos like this because people need to be educated so that things like abortion should never happen. We have sayings of righteousness and justice written in our courtrooms, but where's the justice for the unborn? The world is following pro-life activism in America. If we can stop abortion here, we can change things globally."

Joe Scheidler, founder of the Pro-Life Action League in Chicago and its suburbs, was marching with his wife, Ann, and two young women.

He told WND, "No social movement has ever succeeded without people looking at the victims. So Mark's doing a great job and I have tremendous respect for him, his work and the people who work with him."

For decades the National Organization for Women accused Scheidler of organized crime because he counseled pregnant mothers outside abortion clinics. The U.S. Supreme Court twice ruled in favor of Scheidler, but according to his website, NOW continues filing lower court cases against him.

Scheidler explained, "We learn 90-some percent through sight."

Therefore, the Pro-Life Action League conducts Truth Tours all over America. Scheidler's staff and volunteers stand on streets holding large images of abortion victims and sometimes do it near abortion clinics. However, they also hold warning signs to alert the public before they come upon the disturbing images.

"Most people scream at us," said Scheidler, "but on one of our Truth Tours we had 22 women tell us they cancelled their abortions. Those are the ones who stopped and told us. That's good enough for me."

Approximately one block from Harrington's jumbo screen, the Genocide Awareness Project from Lake Forest, Calif., displayed gigantic photos of abortion victims and a spokesman called out to young marchers. The group takes its displays to 30 college and university campuses per year.

The only complaint WND heard came from a taxi driver, who said, "I don't want to see those pictures."

Mark Harrington hopes young people will spread the "Created Equal" video far and wide, by posting it on their Facebook pages or other social media platforms.