WASHINGTON, D.C., February 22, 2013, (LifeSiteNews.com) – Abortion activist group NARAL Pro-Choice America is worried about an “intensity gap” among young activists on both sides of the life issue. On the pro-life side, they see passion and hard work. On the pro-abortion side, they see apathy and laziness.
NARAL’s concern about the “intensity gap” was a major theme of their recent annual dinner in Washington, D.C. They highlighted the issue by playing a video interview with a young pro-lifer, Mark Earley, Jr., who attends law school at the University of Richmond. The video seemed custom-made to raise the pro-aborts’ hackles. But was it? If so, why would any pro-lifer agree to participate?
Based on recent reports by Roll Call and the Daily Caller, the answers would appear to be “yes” and “because they were misled.” Both outlets report that NARAL hired former Obama campaign strategy and public affairs group GMMB to search out young pro-lifers and interview them extensively in their homes, without revealing the intended purpose of the videos.
NARAL chose Earley’s interview to feature during the dinner because it was the “most passionate” of the numerous interviews the group obtained, according to spokeswoman Samantha Gordon. She said NARAL wanted “to show that passion to our audience.”
Earley wasn’t sure why he was singled out to interview. He had previously done some work for the Family Foundation of Virginia, but at the time of the interview he was a state employee and not involved in any form of activism. “I don’t really know how [GMMB] knew who I was,” Earley told the Daily Caller. “They wanted to know if I was willing to be interviewed as one part of a series they were doing on millenials’ views on the issue of abortion.”
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Early said the group was secretive. “They couldn’t tell me who it was for,” Earley said. “They had been doing this thing for a while. I was just one of several people” they interviewed. “They said they couldn’t say who else they were interviewing. It seems like they were under a gag order. They couldn’t tell me who it was for…I didn’t know it was for NARAL.”
The interview was conducted in Earley’s home. “They came to my apartment in Richmond,” he said. “Maybe six people from GMMB. And we did a camera interview. They were down at my apartment for half a day just asking me questions.”
Explained Earley, “They asked me about my thoughts on abortion, about policy, about underlying belief that would lead to certain conclusions. It was pretty comprehensive. It was very long.”
He said he never got to see the video, even though he asked. I asked to see the video of me, but they weren’t willing to show me that.”
Earley told Roll Call he didn’t mind being the face of the pro-life movement in front of NARAL, but in light of their sneaky approach, he warned other pro-life activists to be very careful about interviews and what they say on camera.
“It is good for everyone to know that there are a lot of young people who are very serious about wanting to protect mothers and children,” he said. But, he added, “I think it’s all the more important for people like me who care about protecting mothers and children to be prepared and articulate so that when we speak and when we communicate, we communicate in a sensitive way and in a true way, so that we don’t get caught by any opponent or any media outlet saying something that isn’t true.”