The Mission
Pro-Life in the Public Square (PLPS) is a new organization dedicated to strengthening the “public square outreach” branch of the pro-life movement. Public square outreach engages the BROAD spectrum of pro-life public sentiment to change hearts, minds, souls, and votes.
Local public square outreach has three sub-branches:
1. Foot soldiers taking positions at strategic locations to engage with signs, literature, and conversations (Life Chain events, overpass outreach, protesting abortion, face the truth tours, and responding to ad hoc outreach opportunities).
2. Displaying fixed signs (billboards, yard signs, and advertising).
3. Displays for personal engagement (fairs, festivals, and tabling events).
The sole purpose of Pro-Life in the Public Square is to promote public square outreach by assisting and financially supporting local pro-life groups nationwide.
It is useful to think of public sentiment as three ranges
(see Figure 1):
- the pro-life faithful (represented by the red area),
- the staunch abortion supporters (represented by blue),
- and the largest and most important “mushy middle” (unaware, undecided, uncertain). This is the large white area. The pro-life
movement has been focused on the pro-life faithful, with a
relative neglect of the mushy middle.
Success in public square outreach aimes to increase the
red/pro-life range over time and reduce in the blue and
white areas. This beneficial outcome is shown in Figure 2.
[This organization is devoted to LOCAL public square
outreach. PSO can also be at a broader or national level. Consider
the powerful participation of Lila Rose on the Dr. Phil Show and the Surrounded/Jubilee podcast. These were not preaching to the
pro-life faithful.]
Here for one-page
essay on Lincoln
and public sentiment.
The Pro-Life in the Public Square organization is an outgrowth of Pro-Life Waco (PLW), as illustrated by the graphic to the right. PLW has delivered public square outreach since its inception in 1995 in the vicinity of Waco, Texas. The top-of-the-list was the Girl Scout Cookie Boycott of 2004.
Relying on the foundation of Pro-Life Waco, Pro-Life in the Public Square will assist and provide funding for other local organizations to deliver public square outreach initiatives.
One motivation for creating PLPS is that the overall pro-life movement has not sufficiently penetrated the mushy middle. This is painfully clear from our post-Dobbs (2022-2024) losses in 14 of 17 states where abortion was directly on the ballot. Our ballot losses were typically by wide margins.
A second motivation for creating Pro-Life in the Public Square is that this branch has become weaker while other branches have become stronger in the 21st century. Other branches at the local level include pregnancy care, sidewalk counseling, and prayer vigils. The way forward must include the revival of the public square outreach branch that makes penetrating the mushy middle its top priority. We must be self-critical about where we are as a movement.
Pro-Life in the Public Square is unique in two ways. This is the only pro-life organization with “public square” in its name. This reflects the weakness of public square outreach in the pro-life movement. Second, Pro-Life in the Public Square may be the only national organization that exists solely for the purpose of assisting OTHER organizations.
Financial and other assistance are currently offered for:
1. Monthly Pharmacy Protest at CVS and Walgreens.
2. Yard Signs for Life community campaigns.
3. Billboards at the Edge of Town, where a highway runs through a small city.
Pro-Life in the Public Square will do all it can to contribute to the revival of local public square outreach. Your support, participation, and prayers will be appreciated.
John Pisciotta, Executive Director
Pro-Life in the Public Square (founded in 2024)
Pro-Life Waco (founded in 1995)
