The BG News op-ed entitled “Pro-life group using scare tactics, lies” accuses the Center for Bio Ethical Reform of photo fraud in its display of aborted baby images as part of the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) which appeared on the BGSU campus on April 16-17, 2007.

The accusation is based entirely on the statement of an abortion clinic worker/protester who said, “The signs that say nine to 10 week old are false,” but moreover, “at that age, a fetus is still microscopic.”

Relying on the words of one source (a person who admits to killing babies in an abortion clinic) for “facts” is at best shoddy journalism and at worst, it presents the author with a legal liability if found untrue.

To verify the authenticity of abortion pictures, CBR has expert testimony of physicians who have formerly practiced abortion medicine.

One example of authentication is contained in a letter received from Anthony P. Levatino, M.D., J.D. Dr. Levatino is both a physician and attorney and he says the following:

“I, the undersigned, having performed induced abortions earlier in my career, have examined the photos depicting the aborted human embryos and fetuses used by The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform in their public education projects. It is my professional opinion that the photos depict aborted human embryos and fetuses and that the depicted aborted human embryos and fetuses are accurately captioned as to age, in weeks since fertilization.”

Abortion proselytes at The BG News accused CBR of mislabeling “older fetuses and mark[ing] them as younger.” No accusation is more easily debunked.

Every one of our photos includes some common object which acts as a size reference.

We encourage anyone who wishes to verify the truth to examine the embryology photos in the following academic texts, used in medical schools all over the world:

a.. William’s Obstetrics, 20th Edition.

b. The Color Atlas of Clinical Embryology, 2nd Edition (This reference contains age to crown/rump length).

But don’t take our word it. Doubters can dial-up www.abortionNO.org and hold these textbook illustrations next to the hundreds of abortion photos.

When measuring the images, bear in mind that many of the first trimester aborted babies shown have been torn apart by the termination procedure.

Abortion stretches, tears and otherwise distorts the soft tissue of these very small unborn babies.

Of course, no amount of evidence will satisfy dogmatic pro-abortionists.

Impugning the accuracy of our pictures is the same sort of tactic used by neo-Nazis in response to condemnation of the Holocaust. Skinheads just say death-camp photos are fake.

They say the Holocaust never happened, and the Final Solution is a slanderous, anti-Arian fairytale.

Pro-abortionists likely wouldn’t acknowledge the legitimacy of any abortion photos, even if they took the pictures themselves – of abortions performed in their very presence.

But for sincere questioners, those who inquire in good faith, the foregoing sources will quiet every reasonable concern.

Finally, in the past, CBR has challenged those who consider CBR’s abortion images inaccurate, like Planned Parenthood, to sue us for photo fraud.

After 10 years of displaying these images on university campuses no one has taken us up on our challenge.

I wonder why? Could it be that the Genocide Awareness Project (GAP) accurately depicts the reality that abortion is an act of violence that kills a baby?

Portions of this guest column are taken from the Center for Bio-ethical Reform’s Web site.