Emily's Voice

Galaxy poll shows ads working

Wed, 22 Feb 2012 10:03 +1000

Our television advertisements have been successful in changing community attitudes to abortion, according to a Galaxy survey conducted in February.

Emily’s Voice CEO Paul O’Rourke said the poll showed only 36 per cent of residents in the Toowoomba local government area were in favour of abortion, compared with the State and national averages of more than 60 per cent.

“This is a remarkable result and is testimony to the influence of not only Emily’s Voice but the churches of Toowoomba who have long sought to love and serve the city in practical ways,’’ he said.

The Galaxy poll also showed Toowoomba residents are aware of the Emily’s Voice advertisements and believe they are credible. The ads have stimulated discussions about abortion and, importantly, have changed people’s views on abortion, particularly those in the 16-24 age group.

The Not Born Yet campaign primarily shows women and couples who continued with an unintended pregnancy despite being single, under financial pressure, or who discovered they were having a child with a disability. One features a young woman who speaks of her pain and regret at having had an abortion.

“Seventy-one per cent of women said they were aware of the ads (sixty per cent of all respondents), 83 per cent of all respondents said the advertisements were credible, 65 per cent said the advertisements made them think about the human consequences of abortion and 7 per cent said the advertisements had changed their views on abortion, most saying they were more opposed to abortion or less in favour than they had been.

“Another pleasing aspect of the poll is the influence our ads are having on the 16-24 age group. Forty-four per cent of this age group said they had spoken to friends and family about abortion and 22 per cent had changed their views on abortion.’’

Emily’s Voice commissioned the Galaxy poll to determine the effectiveness of its advertising which has aired locally for the past few years.

The strategy has been to use a combination of television advertisements, billboards and bus-backs to influence culture.

“We have been determined to present a positive message of hope, using real local people who share their personal experiences,’’ Paul O’Rourke said.

“We are delighted that the advertisements are viewed so positively and have made people think about the consequences of abortion, both for women and their unborn children.’’

Hard to Reconcile Society's Attitude to Unborn Children

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 16:11 +1000

Pubished Toowoomba Chronicle, 19 December 2011

I find it difficult to reconcile our often contradictory attitudes and behaviours towards children, particularly, the unborn.

We run advertisements telling people never to shake your baby, ban smoking in cars when children are present and demand background checks on adults working with children, yet we equally defend the inalienable and seemingly irrevocable right of any woman of any age to have an abortion.

We seem to care more about the rights and best interests of whales and dolphins than of children in the womb who have no rights and whose value is relative.

Last year a Victorian couple who conceived twins through IVF aborted them because they wanted a girl.

A few weeks ago a Melbourne hospital aborted the wrong twin, resulting in the deaths of two unborn children at 32 weeks. Each year in Australia there are about 80,000 abortions, yet less than 400 local adoptions. I say about, because we don’t actually keep an accurate count of abortions. I can tell you with more certainty how many new cars were sold this calendar year.

In Victoria, late term abortions are legal and have become more common while in contrast, more increasingly premature babies are surviving as a result of medical technology.

Similarly, while we end the life of a child in the womb through medical or surgical means, we are saving the lives of babies of the same age through keyhole surgery performed while babies are still inside their mothers. In 2007, a Melbourne Herald Sun investigation revealed that several high schools were taking students to clinics to get the morning-after pill without parents’ permission or knowledge.

The head of Parent Victoria Gail McHardy said at the time it seemed ludicrous that children needed a permission note to go on a school excursion to the zoo, but not to access the morning-after pill.

There is a cooling-off period for a home purchase, but not for an abortion - you can decide and discard the same day.

The press widely reported this month the story of an Australian woman who says she was bullied by doctors into aborting her baby six years ago. She has suffered depression and her marriage ended as a result of her decision to abort. She said doctors strongly advised her to terminate the baby girl she named Lillie at 16 weeks because she had Down Syndrome.

Toowoomba television has been running a series of advertisements, one of which features a Dalby couple who chose to continue their pregnancy despite learning their son had Down Syndrome. Dan and Veronica Laffy said their lives were “richer, fuller and clearer” as a result of having Jimmy. Other advertisements in the series run by the organisation of which I am CEO, Emily’s Voice, feature local people with unplanned pregnancies who chose to keep their unborn children. One also features a young woman who lives with the regret of having had an abortion.

Motivated by love for both the mother and child, our goal is to help people fall in love with the unborn and highlight the potential pain and regret of a decision which may be made in haste, sometimes under duress and ill-informed. We believe every child is valued and wanted by someone, regardless of gender, disability or circumstances of conception.

Hopefully we can all agree there are too many abortions in Australia.

Paul O’Rourke is the CEO of Toowoomba-based organisation Emily’s Voice, and the former CEO of child sponsorship organisation Compassion Australia. He is an author, speaker and former newspaper editor and journalist.

US Life Advocate Speaks at Emily's Voice Lunch

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 13:12 +1000

Emily's Voice together with other local prolife groups is supporting a lunch time visit to Toowoomba of Abby Johnson, former director of a Planned Parenthood abortion clinic, now a leading voice for life and women in crisis. Abby speaks with clarity and compassion from her unique position of having been on both sides of the 'abortion clinic property line.' Hear her true story and keen insights into the abortion industry at 12 noon, Tuesday 28th June at the Neil St Centre. Cost $10 including light lunch. RSVP for catering purposes ph 46382399 or info@emilysvoice.com

Positive response to adoption ad

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 13:11 +1000

The adoption ad featuring James and Donna Poole and their family has been showing on commercial TV stations In the Toowoomba region throughout July. The response from this ad has been very positive, with one viewer saying, “My wife and I after viewing your commercial and visiting your website are deeply moved by the compassion and kindness shown.” Visit notbornyet.com to read the special adoption stories that people have sent in or to view the ad again.

Emily's Voice Gala Dinner 2010

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 13:05 +1000

Following the great success of last year’s dinner, you are warmly invited to share in the very special Emily’s Voice Gala Dinner 2011. The evening will showcase the work of Emily’s Voice, as well as feature inspirational guest speaker, Paul O'Rourke.

Paul is an Australian author and child advocate and describes himself as a relentless, screaming voice for children. As the former CEO of child development and advocacy ministry Compassion Australia, Paul is keenly aware of the needs of children across all situations, born and unborn.

Rumours International, at 323 Ruthven Street, Toowoomba, with its convenient inner-city location and classic décor, will provide an ideal setting for the 2 course meal and the evening's programme.

Individual tickets are available for $35 per person, or why not gather some family and friends to join you in making up a table of 8 at the discounted price of $260 per table or a table of 10 at $320? Hosting a table of 8 or 10 is an excellent way to encourage those you know to be inspired and motivated towards life affirming issues and the work of Emily’s Voice.

An opportunity to commit financial support to Emily’s Voice will be given on the night.

Table and individual tickets can be purchased through the Neil Street Centre office, ph 4638 2399, or online at https://www.registernow.com.au/secure/Register.aspx?ID=4450 before Wednesday, October 12th.

During the evening exciting news for 2012 will be announced. This is an occasion you won’t want to miss!

Appointment of First, Full-time CEO

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 13:04 +1000

Emily's Voice is excited to announce the appointment of Paul O’Rourke as its first, full-time CEO. Paul is the former CEO of Compassion Australia and has also worked for the Australian Christian Lobby as project manager for their Best Interests of the Child campaign, as well as editor of their public policy magazine, Viewpoint. Paul is a passionate advocate for children, both born and unborn, and is looking forward to growing the work of Emily’s Voice across Australia, seeing the social consciousness of our nation change in regard to abortion.

Changing Hearts and Minds

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:59 +1000

At least four women have continued with their pregnancies as a result of the award-winning, life-affirming advertisements you have helped support through your prayers and finances. Thank you! Together we are changing hearts and minds.

The specific stories about women who decided to choose life for their babies have come from people close to Emily’s Voice board members or their families. One involved a woman who became pregnant as a result of rape.

No doubt many other children have, or will be born, as a result of the advertisements designed to help people fall in love with the unborn and shine a bright light on the dark side of the womb.

One of the television advertisements in the current notbornyet series featuring Madeleine Wiedemann has won an award for the best television commercial under $3000 in the recent Queensland Multi-Media Awards. See the ad series at www.notbornyet.com.

In Someone’s Missing, Madeleine talks of the grief and shame she felt as a result of having an abortion as an 18-year-old. She said she made an uninformed choice at a difficult time in her life.

Madeleine helped write the script for the advertisement as part of the Emily’s Voice campaign committee. The winning advertisement was shot and produced by Shayne Cantly from Evolution Studios in Toowoomba. Congratulations to everyone who has contributed to the series.

Projecting Emily’s Voice beyond Toowoomba

I said at the recent celebration dinner that it was time for Emily’s Voice to be heard beyond Toowoomba, and for the volume to be turned up from a whisper to a shout.

We are only able to look beyond Toowoomba because of the firm foundation laid within Toowoomba in the past few years.

Hundreds of individuals, businesses and churches have helped establish Emily’s Voice within the region. We have moved slowly and deliberately to shape our message, always careful to be positive and passionate in representing the cause of children, while also supporting and honouring women.

I have spent my first two weeks on the job meeting supporters, attending the campaign committee meeting and my first board meeting to consider our future strategy.

There is much to do, but we can change how people think, drawing on the strategy and experiences of the Cancer Council and Health Departments as they expose the risks and dangers of smoking.

Who would have thought even 10 years ago that we would ban smoking in pubs!

Paul O’Rourke, CEO

Queensland Government must reject abortion law push

Wed, 07 Dec 2011 12:45 +1000

The Australian Christian Lobby has called on the Queensland Government to retain the remaining protections for the unborn in Queensland law, and to reject the calls of those who would seek to liberalise abortion law in the state[i] without first taking this as policy to an election.

ACL’s Queensland Director Wendy Francis does not expect that the government would push such a contentious view through Parliament in the absence of a mandate, however said, “We have already seen, with the recent civil unions debate, the willingness of the Government to force controversial legislation through the Parliament with scant regard for public consultation and for seeking the view of the electorate,” said Mrs Francis.

“It would be intolerable if such anti-democratic actions were repeated on the abortion issue given how passionately people felt about it, and the impact that any change would have on vulnerable women and their children.”

Current Queensland laws do still provide support for some women who feel pressured into having an abortion such as the story reported in The Daily Telegraph just this week[ii].

Mrs Francis said that it was a troubling time to be discussing changes to Queensland abortion law just two weeks after a healthy twin boy was accidentally terminated instead of his brother at 32 weeks in a botched abortion at the Royal Women’s Hospital in Melbourne.

“This is the same hospital which featured in a 2010 Channel 7 news[iii] report showing a marked increase in the number of late term abortions following the legalisation of abortion up to birth even where there is a healthy mother and a healthy baby,” she said.

The Channel 7 news report focussed on the increased trauma experienced by the medical staff as a result of an increase in the number of late term abortions performed at the facility from one a fortnight to around three a week as a result of the relaxed Victorian law.

“Given the mental health consequences of abortion for women, and the clear consequences for the unborn, it is inhumane to put in place legislative changes that could increase the number of abortions in Queensland,” said Mrs Francis.

“As sonogram technology has advanced to such a state that it is impossible to deny the humanity of the unborn child, any remaining legal protection for the unborn was far from ‘obsolete’, as claimed, but in keeping with the fundamental human right to life.”

ACL believes a priority for any law reform on abortion should be to provide assistance to women with unsupported pregnancy, enhance the protections for the unborn including banning partial birth abortion and to gather accurate statistics, as recommended by a 2008 Senate Inquiry[iv].

Senior members of the ALP have today contacted Wendy Francis, appalled that there is even a discussion of this issue at this point in the electoral cycle.

The Australian Christian Lobby calls on the Queensland Government to retain the current protections for the unborn in Queensland law and make no move for such radical change before the up-coming election.

Ads start on Ch 10

Thu, 15 May 2008 13:00 +1000

'Discover Emily' - the first Emily's Voice media campaign - has commenced on Channel 10, in the Toowoomba region.

The television advertisements encourage the viewer to discover the beauty of a 12 week year old unborn baby.

The Discover Emily television advertisements are currently screening in May and June and will continue into July pending further finances raised through Emily's Voice child sponsorships.

Ads now on WIN TV as well!

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 12:59 +1000

Child sponsorships for Emily's Voice have started to come in and as a result of the funds raised we are now advertising on WIN TV as well as Ch 10.

The 'Discover Emily' campaign is currently being aired on high rotation in the local 6pm News and throughout the day.

As Child Sponsorship numbers grow, we trust that Emily's Voice will be heard on all television stations and on all radio stations. We are also planning for billboards and internet advertising to appear soon.

Watch this space!

Over 100 unborn children already sponsored!

Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:57 +1000

Much is happening at Emily's Voice! Child sponsorships are over 100 and increasing weekly. This is a wonderful response for so short a time. Television ads continue, weekly newspaper ads commenced this month in The Chronicle and Toowoomba Mail and internet advertising has started.

You can see the internet advertisment with its 'Discover Emily' message at www.thechronicle.com.au

Christmas is coming

Wed, 19 Nov 2008 12:56 +1000

Emily's Voice Christmas Campaign is in full swing! If you are in Toowoomba, have you heard or seen the beautiful advertisements with their Christmas theme?

Brochures are being letterbox dropped all over Toowoomba city and also distrubuted through a number of churches. They contain milestones in the life of a tiny unborn, alongside attractive art work, and invite the reader to "discover emily."

Television ads have temporarily ceased and been replaced with radio ads on 4GR and CFM. The uplifting message begins, "This Christmas, inside the wrapping of a mum's tummy.."

Newspaper ads have been updated to include the Christmas wrapping theme with new words and art work.

Large, illuminated posters in two large Shopping Centres complete our exciting Christmas campaign. These are high exposure advertisements, very similar to the newspaper ads, placed near entrances to the centres.

Sponsorships are also increasing and we are well on the way to reaching the target for our first region!

What's New in 2009?

Wed, 04 Feb 2009 12:55 +1000

The new year is starting with a new campaign! Called "Not Born Yet", this campaign will include new television and newspaper ads, plus a new website in addition to the existing one. Part of the message of this campaign will be linking the beauty and joy of a young baby with the beauty and mystery of an unborn throught the eyes of mothers in differing situations.

The new website will emphasize the humanity of an unborn, countering the myths that he/she is "just a ball of cells" or a "worm" or any other false description that people choose to give. There will be some nice surprises on this new site - watch for the announcement of when it becomes live!

New Campaign up and running

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:54 +1000

Not Born Yet, our new campaign for 2009, is live on the internet at www.notbornyet.com. See the TV commercials that are running in Toowoomba, view the photo album of the unborn and read the stories! You can even contribute your own or a loved one's pregnancy story.

Large Numbers visit Not Born Yet website

Wed, 24 Jun 2009 12:52 +1000

The first Not Born Yet Ad ran successfully during late April and May on 3 commercial television stations in Toowoomba. We had more advertising than a national retailer who advertises very heavily! In the ad, people were invited to visit 'notbornyet.com' and they obviously did! There were over 2000 direct hits in just a few weeks.

The second ad in the Not Born Yet campaign features a family who has a child with a disability. It will run in July. The TV ad can be viewed on www.notbornyet.com at the same time.

TV Ads bring public response

Sat, 29 Aug 2009 16:55 +1000

Having now completed the run of the first two advertising campaigns in our Not Born Yet Series, it has been encouraging to see that our campaigns are producing a response from the general public!

People have emailled their own stories to us and these have been added to www.notbornyet.com.

Conversations have been generated on the Letters to the Editor page of Toowoomba's "The Chronicle" in the SMS section.

One excited father of a child who has a disability wrote to us, "I have just seen your latest advert in relation to the parents of the child with Downs Syndrome. I wanted to say THANK YOU! The latest campaign of "Not Born Yet" is sensational and a long time coming."

The third campaign begins in September. View all three TV ads on notbornyet.com.

2010 campaigns

Wed, 17 Mar 2010 16:54 +1000

The first Not Born yet campaign for 2010 has begun with our first three television ads showing in high rotation on Toowoomba's television stations. This is the first time they have been shown concurrently. People are visiting www.notbornyet.com, as directed in the ads and the "Pregnant?" page is proving popular. Feedback from our advertising has been encouraging, indicating that people are changing the way the think in relation to the unborn.

Pregnancy Support Worker Training

Fri, 30 Apr 2010 16:52 +1000

As people change the way they think in relation to the unborn as a result of our advertising campaigns, there will be more and more women who choose life, who choose to keep their babies, and therefore there will be a greater need for pregnancy support. Emily's Voice & Toowoomba City Women are teaming up with the Priceless Life Centre and bringing them to Toowoomba to train women who are interested in becoming pregnancy support workers. The Priceless Life Centre (Brisbane) provides a crisis pregnancy help line, face to face appointments, pregnancy support, and post abortion support.

The training session will include introduction to communication, self-awareness, ethics, abortion, post abortion, fertility and STI’s. It will involve a distance education component as well as attendance at a weekend seminar on 19th & 20th June. Cost for the training is $110. Registration and enquiries to Liz Preston at info@pricelesslifecentre.org.au or call (07) 38563007.

Gala Dinner with Melissa Ohden

Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:51 +1000

Monday, 13th September, 2010 at Highfields Cultural Centre, Emily's Voice will host a Gala Dinner with special keynote speaker, Melissa Ohden. Melissa is a saline infusion abortion attempt survivor, living after an abortion attempt on her life when her mother was 5 months pregnant. She was adopted and raised in a loving family and is now a totally healthy 33 year old, married and has a daughter of her own. Melissa lives in the United States and travels widely with her message of life. The doors open at 6:30pm for a 7pm start. Individual tickets are $35 per person or a table of 8 may be purchased for the discounted price of $250. Bookings and enquiries info@emilysvoice.com

Facing Fatherhood Campaign Expands

Wed, 24 Nov 2010 16:06 +1000

Our Facing Fatherhood picture now drives around Toowoomba on the back of a bus! Two terrific billboard sites have been secured as well. Dads are encouraged that like Gavin in the ad, they too can cope with fatherhood! In addition to these, all four of our notbornyet ads are being shown in high rotation on all three commercial television stations in Toowoomba. You'll also see notbornyet ads online at thechronicle.com.au This is the biggest campaign so far in Emily's Voice's history and has been made possible due to the outstanding support received from the Gala Dinner held in September with guest speaker, Melissa Ohden.