Who are we?
We are a group of people working to challenge the way society thinks about abortion, and to support those affected by abortion.
In our educational work we major on the scientific facts and the photographic and statistical evidence of abortion, believing that they speak for themselves.
We use Socratic questioning to help people to revise their own presuppositions and conclusions on the issue of abortion.
We uphold the unborn child’s right to life, as affirmed by the Declaration of the Rights of the Child (1959) and reiterated by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) in the Preamble: "the child, by reason of his physical and mental immaturity, needs special safeguards and care, including appropriate legal protection, before as well as after birth.”
In our educational mission we partner with people of all faiths and none, and we engage with people of all faiths and none.
We abhor all abortion-related violence.
Why are we doing this?
Although much of what we do is not “religious” (see above), the founders of CBR UK and its staff are all committed Christ-followers, motivated by the revealed love of God for us and for all human beings, whatever their size or level of development.
We believe that every human being, from the point of fertilisation, is created in the image of God and is therefore utterly precious, regardless of sex, skin colour, strength, circumstance, abilities, wantedness.
Every person is so valuable in God’s eyes that they were worth dying for.
The good news of Jesus is that there is forgiveness for everyone who turns to Christ, because of his death for us on the cross.
Abortion is not unforgivable, and mercy graciously extends to all who turn to Christ in repentance.
We emphatically do not believe that we are morally superior to anyone else. On the contrary, a fundamental prerequisite of being a Christian is the acknowledgement that all of us are sinners in need of a Saviour, regardless of whether we are “pro-life” or “pro-choice”.
We are motivated by the God-given dignity of all human beings – including those who disagree with us on abortion – and this directs all our attitudes and actions.
So we are Religious then?
People use the word “religious” in a number of different ways to try to do various things.
We are not “religious” as opposed to scientific or rational. We defy anyone to accuse us of medical misinformation or poor logic. There is no a priori conflict between religion and science or reason. On the contrary, many of the world’s greatest scientists have been believers.
Nor are we “religious” in that our tactics involve chanting Bible verses or expecting people to agree with us simply because our “religion” says so. We appeal to common ground and reason with people from where they stand.
In our public education projects we work with people of all faiths and none (some of the volunteers in our street teams are atheists, for example) to reach all of society with the facts of abortion.
It is imperative to note that it is not only the “religious” who hold “religious” views when it comes to abortion. As soon as we are speaking of morality, of right and wrong, everyone is in the realm of metaphysics, going beyond the realm of pure science, applying value systems based on personal beliefs and presuppositions that are not scientific in nature.
The assertion that abortion is every woman’s right to choose, for example, is not something that you can prove in a laboratory.
So it will not do to dismiss only some (i.e. pro-lifers) as having “religious” motivations in this debate – as if there are others who do not and are thereby supposed to be more purely rational.
All are applying values and beliefs when it comes to the morality of abortion.
Some of our other projects (Brephos, PASE, and Hope Pregnancy Centres) are more distinctly Christian in nature than our public education work, and more detailed descriptions of their approaches can be found on their web pages.
Do we Evangelise?
When engaged in public education, we will use what we believe to be the most effective methods for persuading today’s (largely secular) culture to afford equal human rights to unborn children: science, photography, and logic. For this same reason we will not lead in these contexts with religious questions, nor will we give religious answers to non-religious questions.
Example: Asked by a non-Christian on the streets, “when do you think life begins then?” we will say, “well science shows us that from the moment of fertilisation what you have is a new living human being, as demonstrated by his or her own unique DNA,” NOT, “Psalm 51:5 clearly demonstrates personhood from conception.”
However, when asked a religious question (and we have noted above that many questions, including moral questions, really are religious in nature), we may give an answer, or ask a further question, connected to our faith in Christ – indeed it is natural for a Christ-follower to do so: this is who we are.
Example: A non-Christian said to us recently, “I sense a positive energy from you guys but when I go near the pro-choice counter-protesters I get this negative energy.” Reply: “The positive energy you are sensing is probably the Holy Spirit – we (many of us) are followers of Jesus.”
Do you have to be Christian to work with CBR UK?
All our staff are Christians, but some of the volunteers who help with our public education displays are not.
Anyone with a basic regard for human rights, science, and logic, and who is able to sign our code of conduct and agrees with our goals, is warmly encouraged to join us, whatever their faith perspective, in our public education work. We will work with anyone to get help to those threatened by abortion.
However, as mentioned above, some of our other projects (Brephos, PASE, Hope) are more distinctly Christian in nature, in that they seek to address the whole person including a regard for their spiritual wellbeing and not just their grasp of the facts of embryology and abortion. To be involved with these projects, it is required that all volunteers are committed Christ-followers.