How Much is One Life Worth?-Vitae Caring Foundation Believes Each One is Priceless
by Staff
January 10, 2008
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo., (christiansunite.com) -- You can't set a price on the life of a baby--or its mother. To get that message to the widest possible audience the Vitae Caring Foundation has spent the last 16 years producing professional television and radio commercials designed to educate viewers and listeners about resources for pregnant women facing a crisis pregnancy.Producing commercials--especially television commercials--and buying air time is an expensive proposition, yet Vitae isn't counting the cost, it's celebrating the results. For example, after a Vitae ad ran in New York, the city that leads the nation in abortions, the EMC Frontline Pregnancy Centers received more than 1,100 calls and over 400 visits. Best of all, the lives of 138 babies were saved in New York City. After Vitae commercials ran in Dallas, pregnancy resource centers reported a 169 percent increase in calls; in Kansas City crisis pregnancy centers fielded 181 percent more calls than usual; and in Minneapolis the month after the Vitae ads ran on TV, abortions dropped by 10.6 percent.
Yet, as we approach the 35th anniversary of Roe vs. Wade, there is still so much more do. Vitae is constantly re-evaluating its message and studying new ways to frame the issue so they can reach teenagers eager to experiment with their sexuality, women who may or may not be ready to start a family, and men whose actions and opinions very often are a catalyst for a woman's decision to abort or keep her baby. To keep Vitae's message fresh and convincing requires new market research, as well as consultation with media and marketing professionals. All of that is expensive, too.
Vitae's decision in 1991 to enter the media was based upon the realization that in today's world most people get their information and develop their opinions based upon what they see and hear in the mass media. And so, to change hearts and change minds, to reach the market that needs to hear the message that women need real choices and that life is sacred, Vitae creates TV and radio spots that are positive, persuasive, and non-threatening.
The way the people at Vitae see it, in the struggle to bring America back to its traditional respect for human life, developing effective television and radio campaigns is not a flashy luxury, but an absolute necessity. After all, the goal is to save human lives, each one of which is priceless.
