As a former congressman who yielded incredible power as the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Jason Chaffetz told Vitae Foundation supporters last night he gets the opportunity to speak to a lot of organizations, “but this one means more than the rest.”
Chaffetz’s remarks came at Vitae’s Annual Kansas City Pro-Life Event, held at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel. Earlier in the program, Lamar Hunt, Jr. spoke briefly about the importance of Vitae’s work in the Kansas City area and beyond.
“We know that abortion is a tragedy on so many levels,” Hunt stated. “Vitae has been a great teacher to all of us for so many years.”
The President of Loretto Companies and Member of the Founding Family of the Kansas City Chiefs has been involved with Vitae since the mid-1990s. He referenced “great teacher” because of the way Vitae’s research has taught, and continues to teach, countless people and pro-life organizations all over the country to communicate with a woman who is pregnant and doesn’t want to be.
“Great research, great teaching, all based on the reality that we are all God’s loving children worthy of consideration, no matter what we’ve done,” Hunt noted. “Thank you for being here. There is nothing more you can do that is better than this.”
Chaffetz told the socially-distanced crowd that the issue of life transcends any political persuasion or perspective, or the like or dislike of any particular candidate.
“We need to talk about the dignity…of a human life. I would hope that over the course of time, somehow the political end of that spectrum would shift to the recognition of that heartbeat and that soul, and that gift from God would prevail over any political swing one way or the other,” the father of three and grandfather of two stated.
The four-term former congressman noted a quote from Margaret Thatcher, and how it is relevant with Vitae’s work today. She used to say that to win an argument, you had to win hearts and minds.
“What I love about Vitae is that they are doing both. They understand, because of the research, what these women are going through. Maybe three weeks ago she wasn’t in this position, then she is and it’s a crisis,” Chaffetz said. Women get on their phones “and Vitae’s ad is right there, with an answer and solution so that hopefully they will reach out and talk to somebody and understand that there is a better choice. That there is more of a choice.”
This is exactly what is happening every day across the country and especially in the heart of the Kansas City area. Vitae Senior Market Director Stacey Kromer highlighted the results from Vitae’s digital strategies there.
Thanks to the Knights of Columbus and its Meet Life campaign, from January through June of this year, Vitae has made 591 connections between women and PHCs in the Kansas City area. These are women who otherwise could have been headed to Planned Parenthood.
“These campaigns are tried and true. We are now ready to take these strategies over the border with Wyandotte and Olathe Pregnancy Clinics,” Kromer announced.
She also shared that the Greater Kansas City media market was chosen to be Vitae’s first special project testing site for geofencing. This is the practice of delivering an ad to an abortion-determined woman based on her geographic location.
Holding up a cell phone, Kromer explained that whether you’re aware or not, it tracks your location. Ads for Advice and Aid in Overland Park are showing up on tens of thousands of devices across the Kansas City metro area. An ad can even appear on a woman’s phone as she’s riding on a bus or being driven to Planned Parenthood.
“Just since June, our ads have been clicked on 2,000 times, and we have connected 741 women with Advice & Aid. This success has led to a similar campaign being launched earlier this month in Dallas,” Kromer noted.
Vitae’s Senior Market Director also noted that together, between the Meet Life efforts and the geofencing project, “Vitae’s ads have made 1,342 connections between women in need and local Pregnancy Help Centers here in the Kansas City area.” All this in just a matter of months.
Chaffetz summed it up this way. “I think about Vitae being in the right place at the right time with women going through a difficult situation. I think about people like yourselves, you put your heart and soul in this. I think that the soul of America needs you to do good. We get a lot of chatter and static during elections, but what you do really matters. It touches people’s hearts, and it touches people’s lives. I can’t thank you enough for what you do.” Help Vitae continue their efforts to help women in difficult situations.