Women’s Abortion Signs Get Better Reception at President Bush’s Rally
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
March 23, 2004
Orlando, FL (LifeNews.com) — After campaign staffers for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry destroyed their signs saying their abortions hurt them, Rebecca Porter and her friend Cindy decided to try their luck with the signs at a rally for President George W. Bush. The difference was amazing.
In an exclusive LifeNews.com story earlier this month, Porter said Kerry was "shocked and surprised" to see her sign, which read "My Abortion Hurt Me." A Kerry campaign staffer tore it to shreds moments later saying, "You can’t have that sign here."
The Kerry campaign has refused to comment on the matter.
But, Rebecca and Cindy felt as though a door had been opened for them when they found themselves with VIP passes a day before a recent Bush event in Orlando.
On the back of their signs, they taped the message "Thank you President Bush for being Pro-Life." When they arrived at the Bush rally, homemade signs were not allowed inside the event, so they stashed them away to use afterwards.
The women later found themselves about 10 feet away from the president, but were unable to show him their signs.
After the event, the women grabbed their signs and held them in front of a group of hundreds of people waiting to board busses to take them to nearby parking lots. The positive response was overwhelming.
"After about two minutes a young man came close enough to read the signs and he asked me if I was the woman who took her sign to Kerry’s rally," Porter told LifeNews.com. "I was so surprised!"
The women also encountered a pregnant woman and asked her to take their picture.
"She was waiting for her friends and stood by watching us for over five minutes," Porter says. "Cindy shared with her a copy of the LifeNews.com article and told her about Operation Outcry: Silent No More," a group that helps women hurt by abortion share their stories.
The woman had had an abortion and discussed her negative abortion experience with Cindy.
Those attending the Bush event overwhelmed Rebecca and Cindy with their positive response to the signs.
"There were no negative remarks," Porter explained. "We must have had over 25 thumbs ups and many came and shook our hands and said ‘God bless you for your courage. But there were also the ones with pain in their eyes that would look away, the ones who have felt the same pain of abortion that we have."
The women also received invitations from students with the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at the University of Florida to speak at their campus.
Porter tells LifeNews.com that event was a stark contrast to the Kerry rally.
"It was wonderful to be there. The rally was like a whole different world from Kerry’s," Porter explained.
