A pen offers a mightier punch than a sword
By Malin Jordan
If there was any doubt that the pen is mightier than the sword, the cliché was poignantly reinforced last week when a local pregnancy crisis centre stood up to the bullying of CTV.
The incident occurred when CTV investigative journalist Jon Woodward sent a woman, undercover and with recording devices, into the South Fraser Pregnancy Options (SFPO) centre in Surrey.
Pretending to be pregnant, she was seen by a volunteer counselor. The counselor provided the undercover reporter with standard information on all pregnancy options as contained in a brochure issued by the Canadian Association of Pregnancy Support Services.
A few days later SFPO received a call from Woodward. He said he had received a complaint from someone who used SFPO's services and who claimed she was given "false medical information regarding the risks of abortion."
Later, Woodward admitted the so-called complaint had come from the CTV employee who was undercover. It was revealed that Woodward sent in the hidden camera "with the intent of exposing (the centre) for providing supposedly false information," according to Laura Lansink, SFPO's executive director. She also said Woodward was allegedly confrontational and demanded an interview.
That's when the Lansink decided to fight back. She sent out a letter to supporters asking for prayer support over what might be a biased news story - still yet to air on CTV.
Ironically, according to Lansink, Woodward was annoyed that she sent out the letter. Which is remarkably thin-skinned for someone who shamelessly set up a bogus interview of a volunteer trying to help a vulnerable woman just so he could get a story.
There is a story there if Woodward wanted one, but it's nothing his fellow ideologues would approve of. No, the story is about the wonderful work the volunteers do at SFPO. They struggle to offer vulnerable women valuable information - all pregnancy options. They don't perpetuate the lie and misinformation that abortion is the best option for unwanted pregnancies.
Another option for Woodward would be to infiltrate an abortion clinic and film a story about the lie of abortion. Now there's a story that would resonate. Not the groundbreaking stuff that generates pats on the back from colleagues, but a real story that would resonate with viewers - a "why" and "how" roadmap regarding the culture of death and how it coerces women into abortion.
A positive result from the incident is that SFPO refused to be silent. For far too long people have been silent against the tyranny of those pushing death. As Lansink said, "We have nothing to hide here."
Journalism is about describing what is happening and where (the 5 W's), and not sensationalizing events. Journalism isn't a screenplay. It's mundane, everyday stuff. But Woodward's faux-expose was meant to supposedly "uncover" the shameful work that volunteers do at SFPO - counseling vulnerable women.
There is also the sad story of the volunteer left in the wake of Woodward's deception- a person hurt and humiliated for giving everything she had in her heart to help what she thought was a vulnerable woman. She felt violated and crushed. A volunteer who went out of her way to help was brutally cast aside, herself a victim of sensationalized journalism.
Lansink stands as a beacon in the face of unfettered aggression. Silence has been the norm in the face of the overbearing death-mongers who think their personal brand of tyranny has to be followed by everyone.
Lansink should be commended for standing up. She made a difference.
