The educational TV programme “Feel the Heartbeat,” a one-hour pro-life production of Alliance for Life and all its many supporters, shown across Canada in March and April 1988, has 1870.
“One of the chief accomplishments of the programme is proven by the incredibly large number of counselling calls we received. We reached a significant number of people who were not part of the pro-life movement. Those 16-24 years old who watched the programme felt we were caring, helpful and generous people who would do our best to bring them through the difficulty. We learned that, however complex and difficult life might be, bringing an unborn baby to term is a good and courageous thing to do. We also learned something that surprised even ourselves: there is a tremendous need for help among single mothers and telephone counselling is a useful step in making that help available.
Telephone calls from March 26 to April 19, were as follows:
Counselling Calls – 365
Pledge Calls – 857
Other – 648
Total – 1870
Type:
Pregnant and Distressed – 50 percent
Information – 9 percent
Adoption – 8 percent
Help for Single Mom – 7 percent
Male with Pregnant Friend – 5 percent
Had abortion – 5 percent
Info on Alliance – 4 percent
Other – 12 percent
For the first time in Canada, after years of pro-abortion programmes and films produced by the National Film Board, the pro-life view was aired for an entire hour. The report notes:
The programme was professional, non-political, educational and pro-life. Alliance did not go broke doing it.
The programme was shown in many viewing areas several times and in all locations in Canada (except for the urban areas of Saskatchewan), at least once. In Ottawa we were on three time; in Vancouver twice; and in the Atlantic provinces, rural areas of Canada, the Yukon and the Northwest Territories twice. We had advertising on 100 radio stations, appeared in newspapers perhaps 200 times, put up 2000 posters, and distributed two-thirds of a million bulletin inserts. CBC’s The Journal played the four minute promotion tape. High schools have been showing the programme ever since the first TV showing. Two universities will be using it in the fall in sociology and social work classes.
Expenses of April 13:
Programme production – 289 000
Air time – 184 000
Telephone – 28 000
Promotion – 61 000
Organization – 64 000
Repayment of the loan – 75 000
Total – 701 000
Preliminary Financial Account:
Income as of April 13 – 138 000
In-kind donations – 210 000
Donations – 246 000
Pledges – 75 000
Other – 18 000
Total – 687 000
As of May 30, Alliance had received over $75 000 in pledges, donations and sales, heard about 15 babies having been saved and over 300 mothers being counselled and assisted to bring their pregnancies to term.
