Oliver, a police officer from Bristol, has been involved in CBR UK’s prolife work for several months now. He wants to encourage people to get involved with the prolife movement by spreading the value of humanity in the womb.
What is the prolife activism that you take part in?
I’m involved in the school displays with CBR UK and I also try and arrange different prolife talks. I’m trying to encourage other church leaders to stand up and be prolife by networking and connecting with different churches. I chose to get involved with CBR UK through a friend of mine who was already volunteering with them, I hadn’t a clue who they were, but I got in touch and it went from there.
Can you explain more about your work at CBR UK?
Once a month I do the street side displays with the Cardiff group, but I’ll also be leading the Bristol group soon. We have a presentation evening where we will have speakers coming in and the main goal is to encourage people who are prolife by belief but aren’t doing anything about it. Afterwards, we have training on how to handle some of the questions or opposition that come up.
Has anyone ever shown anger about the graphic images you display? How do you respond?
Yeah, we do get some people who aren’t very happy about the images, when it happens, I try to base my answer on how someone is behaving towards us. The one thing I say to them is that I agree with them, these pictures are horrible and that we aren’t here to shock for the sake of it, we are here for a purpose. We aren’t the ones who are horrible, what we are doing is not horrible, it’s abortion that’s a horror and if it disturbs you that much then let’s both go to our local MP and do something. Let’s direct that energy to push to see an end to it!
What do your friends and co-workers think about what you do in your spare time – do they know?
My friends know what I do, they are generally supportive, but they draw the line at becoming active. There’s obviously a fear that you’ll be in conflict with your employment, so there is that element hanging over your head sometimes, but it hasn’t come to that and I don’t think it will.
Are there any legal concerns over displaying graphic images?
There aren’t any legal concerns, we have proven case law which has been through the high court and it was found that we are totally within our rightsto show the imagery that we do because it’s based on an education project. These are true medical images; they are not doctored or anything. We try to work closely with the police, who we will contact a few weeks before to explain what we are doing and send over the laws that support us doing that. The police have been great so far, they have accepted us being there and they don’t accept excessive confrontation from any opposers.
How do you personally cope with any negativity you face – does it affect you?
I always come back to what Jesus did on the cross and all the suffering He faced and that this is me bearing my cross. It is tough but I have a sense of peace thinking I’m doing it for a reason and when I get the positive people – and they do exist – coming up and shaking my hand telling me that what we do is great, it makes it all worth while.
Do you have a favourite prolife moment?
I don’t have one that stands out but there are people who stop and have a look at the information we have, and they’ve changed their mind ortheir stance on abortion afterseeing the reality. They see that these are children, they are people, they are unique, and abortion is terrifying. To see their faces change when they see that these little lives are wiped out by a 5-10-minute procedure, those moments stand out for me.
What would you say to someone who lacks confidence to get involved in the prolife movement?
Just go out and do it! I know myself that fear of people’s reactions could stop you from doing it, but you must be bigger than that. If we look historically at various injustices, it’s often the case that many people could have stopped them, but fear held them back, it’s trying to conquer that. We need to appeal to people’s hearts by telling them straight that this is a child, this is a person and let’s work together to love them and start seeing some humanity again.
To find out more about the amazing work CBR UK do visit their website cbruk.org
I was involved with the prolife movement for many years here in Stirling and Glasgow, and to a lesser extent I still am. We do a forty days for life during lent where we stand near the local hospital in a silent vigil, praying for those poor babies and mothers. I’m in my seventies now and not quite as fit as I once was but I can still pray and will continue to do so that God will grant you the strength and courage to carry on with the amazing work you are doing. Thank you so much. 💖💖🙏🙏
Well done dear Ollie and all the wonderful pro life people who speak up and yes ruffle a few feathers to alert people to the appalling we we treat our tiny little brothers and Sisters who have no voices i salute you ..A dreadful ignorance surrounding abortion is like a blanket over people and of course abortion thrives on ignorance .i can NEVER understand why pro life people call the pro abortionists pro choice they are NOT in fact anything but no choice for the baby and often the Mum to be either …many people want their babies deeply but somehow get on the abortion wagon and conveyor belt straight to the local mill before they realise what they really wanted others dare not say no and of course sex slaves also do not have a choice or chance this is why it is so imperative pro life people are available outside mills to offer true love ,support ,care and compassion the abortionists realise this and push for more buffer zones but we will not be silenced