Youth Defence in
what they describe as, “The Better Answer campaign”, have rolled out the first
phase of their pro-life billboard campaign over the last few weeks. There are
almost 100 of these billboards in Dublin and over 200 advertisements in the
Luas tram system, as well as free-standing ‘Metropanels’, and ‘Transvision’
screens which is basically a short video displayed on huge screens in major
public transport stations in the city. There are also have 200 exterior Dublin
Bus advertisements. Phase 2 of the campaign will extend the Billboards, Metropanels’,
and ‘Transvision’ screens to the
rest of Ireland
The campaign has
already been featured in the Irish Times, Independent, Evening Herald, The Daily
Mail, and the popular Huffington Post, as well as on radio. Feedback so far
from the public has been excellent! People, who are constantly bombarded with
an anti-life agenda from the media, are glad to finally see a pro-life message
out there.
The campaign is not without controversy however and the pro-abortion
movement has not wasted time in attacking it, both in the media and by defacing
some of the billboards.
Youth Defence
has said that attempts by abortion campaigners to vandalise their pro-life
billboards were "pathetic and smacked of desperation", the statement
continued that after two weeks of blustering, threats and hot air, a small
group of left wing activists had eventually caused minimum damage to just two
or three of more than 300 pro-life adverts around Dublin.
Niamh Ui Bhriain
of the Life Institute said that the extreme reaction of abortion campaigners
was indicative of the mindset of people who did not want to debate the issue
but preferred to resort to vandalism. "They've failed to win over the
Irish people and want to censor the pro-life message instead," she said.
"They won't succeed.
