LIFEGUARD
 Code of Conduct (excerpts)

LIFEGUARD seeks to distinguish itself from other, similar pro-life organizations by the brashness, creativity, coordination, insightfulness, and prayerfulness it brings to the fray.

  Introduction

Why LIFEGUARD Is Pro-Life

LIFEGUARD is a pro-life, Christian organization that stands against abortion in all its forms because life is good, won at great cost, and worth living (Genesis 1:26-31) and killing is bad, a waste, and worth opposing.

Life is good because, for humans, it affords the opportunity for a rational understanding of self and of the natural order and this gives joy, purpose, creativity, and wealth in all its meanings--and it also affords, through the reception of grace, a participation in the very life of the Creator Himself, bestowing on believers the possibility of life everlasting.

Thus from both a natural standpoint and a supernatural one, human life is priceless--a proposition testified to by the Christian belief that, "For God so loved the world so much that He gave His only Son so that anyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16)

.And it was through this divine "dying" that not only was the gift of eternal life extended to believers, the civic notion of universal rights was also born--for  Christ died for all mankind, not just for the kings or the privileged or the mighty (see Appendices for further discussion of the term "right" as it relates to the "reproductive freedom" /abortion issue)

.Thus the secular concept of "right--in contrast to mere license, notion, whim, or self-indulgence--finds its truest civic expression in those requirements humans must fill in order to realize through reason and live out through action their ultimate, created purpose (i.e., investigation of and adherence to the natural law that St. Paul speaks of in Romans 1), and in those obligations humans have to one another.

Others, such as Lifeguard's opposition, may advance theories of human "rights" based on sexual appetite, wounded feelings, or gender grievance, but if the "right" is not anchored in the "needful things" of humanity's rational search for purpose in the natural order or in religious liberty, it does not pass muster as a true right, even if civil law stemming from it still commands the obedience of LIFEGUARD members.

Through grace, however, human life also participates in the very life of God Himself and thus can know truths deeper than the mere natural law St. Paul spoke of and faulted the pagans for ignoring; and it allows one to acquire mastery over one's self and as well as one's environment--affording satisfaction, happiness, and a foretaste of the life to come.

Christians celebrate this divine invitation for holistic living (holiness) and eternal life, and should reflect the joy and wonder of the calling in everything they do.

Nonviolence

 But because this invitation to divine life stems from one God--one Father--it also behooves all who claim the Christian baptism to acknowledge the brotherhood and sisterhood of all on earth--and to fight for the freedom, dignity, and rights of those who are oppressed, in need, or in danger of unjust physical harm.

This is why LIFEGUARD stands vehemently against abortion as well as all injustice.

LIFEGUARD strives to do so, however, not in anger, hatred, or personal ridicule of others but with the wisdom, compassion, and joy of the Christian victory in its heart--though we are saddened and outraged by the ongoing killing of our preborn brothers and sisters--and not with the weapons of cudgel and stone at the ready but with truth, love, and free speech: the patrimony of citizens of a free society.

Lifeguard therefore renounces all violence, except in proportionate self-defense and in proportionate defense of others who bring themselves within harm's way at a pro-life activity site when non-violent means prove futile, and believes that Christian witness, compassion, creativity, and reason compellingly expressed have the power to change hearts and minds deceived by society's bogus claims of rights in service of the killing of the helpless, the innocent, and the unwanted.

General Rules of Engagement

1.  Debate with opposition forces, when appropriate (see Level III Activity), must be limited to abortion and pro-life issues and must not degenerate into angry name-calling or personal attack. Criticism of opposition forces must be limited to their actions, conduct, speech, arguments, or behavior and must never impugn their personhood or general character (see Appendices);

2.  Arguments in support of the possible justifiability of violence against abortion providers must never be discussed in public. Christ died for all people, including his enemies, though he could have destroyed them all with a glance. Lifeguard is a non-violent Christian organization and its members must renounce not only violence against the innocent but any speculation as to its permissibility in the  campaign against abortion;

3.  Similarly, LIFEGUARD members may not engage in pointless arguing with opposition members (i.e., arguing that does not quickly make the pro-life point and discredit the "pro-choice"  argument) or in cursing, lying, threatening, blocking access, harassment (i.e., personal attacks, not including persistent entreaty to forgo the abortion option or public denunciation of abortion rationales or escort conduct), uncontrollable anger, prideful attention-getting behavior, or insubordination to the Lifeguard Sergeant-at-Arms or executive council members.

4.  Through our calmness, command of the issues, sense of purpose, visible compassion, and even good humor we must reflect the wonder, awesomeness, and love of God, not just his judgement (Christianity offers more than just escape from punishment; it offers a harvest of the creativity, wisdom, humor, mystery, and power of God Himself. The secular world is hungry for this. LIFEGUARD must try to reflect this to the world so they can't easily dismiss us (and our message) as dour, guilt-ridden cultural misfits. We should be comfortable with what is good in our culture and understand the rest, so we can use it all in our Christian outreach to the opposition. We are pro-life, and not pro-death, because we revel in the goodness, excitement, and marvels of life. We should show this by reserving our fierceness for their arguments, not their persons.)

Taking It To The Opposition: Level III Lifeguard and Rhetorical Engagements

 The highest level of activity and risk is pro-life advocacy that combines sidewalk counseling with open debate and verbal confrontation with opposition forces. At this level the twin LIFEGUARD objectives of saving lives and confounding opposition rationales (both to demoralize opposition forces and secure turnarounds by exposing the falsehoods of the "pro-choice" side) come together. Though at this level the LIFEGUARD member engages in the maximum permissible activity--and perhaps finds the work attractive as a result--Level III work is also fraught with peril.

This is because such activity runs a greater risk of involving LIFEGUARD members in conduct or speech which could reflect badly on the organization, other members, or Christianity itself. Opposition forces may be ignorant of the fine points of theology or Scripture which Lifeguard members know, but generally opponents can tell when a Christian is engaging in unchristian behavior--and they will take encouragement for their wayward positions from such perceived unchristian behavior.

Thus Level III practitioners run a greater risk of bringing discredit upon their Faith, hardening opposition attitudes, or even spurring prospective clients on toward their death-dealing decision.

Pitfalls of the Religious Argument Alone

 Practitioners of Bible- or theology-based Level III debate must be thoroughly familiar with religious arguments against abortion so as to acquit themselves well in this kind of debate (see preamble to LIFEGUARD Constitution for Scriptural references). With opposition forces that have some religious training and knowledge, Scriptural or doctrinal arguments may have a positive effect--and will always have an effect if prompted by the Holy Spirit (but this must be carefully discerned).

Because of differences in America's religions, however, Scriptural or doctrinal debate alone can be problematic, as some opposition forces may dispute conclusions --especially religious conclusions that stray from the abortion issue--on sectarian grounds and thus bog down debate in counterproductive wrangling. This is why it is necessary for Level III LIFEGUARD members to limit Christian doctrinal debate to the abortion issue alone, and avoid discussions of Old Testament law (such as capital punishment for sodomy, the place of women in society, etc.) that are at odds with modern Christian theology and civil law.

Debate From Reason and Natural Law

 Of great, if risky, potential for LIFEGUARD members engaged in Level III activities is argumentation from reason and the natural law. It is a method that Christ used on several occasions (Mark 3:23-27, Matthew 22:41-45, Mark 2:8-l, Mark 12:35-37, Luke 18:1-8, Lk 20:37-40, Jn 18:23-24) as did the evangelist Paul when, before the Sanhedrin, he exclaimed "Are you sitting to judge me according to the law, and yet contrary to the law you order me to be struck?"  (Acts 23:3). Both apparently knew that conversion--or at least shaming--can result from exposing the illogicality of an opponent's action or position.

Since America is a pluralistic society under a constitutional republican form of government--and not a theocracy--religious argumentation alone often falls on deaf ears because opposition forces can legitimately argue that strictly religious precepts are not binding on them as there is a separation of church and state in America. They can therefore dismiss religiously based objections to abortion on the grounds that religious citizens should not have the right to "impose"  their beliefs on others of different beliefs.

And they would be right in doing so if the religious argument was one that had only a sectarian basis (e.g., a prohibition against women working outside the home, etc.) and could not be defended from the reasoned (the obvious one being, what are unmarried women to do?) standpoint as well.

America has indeed erected a "wall" of separation between church and state--otherwise we might all have been forced to become Anglicans or Calvinists--and the religious argument alone (unless, of course, prompted directly by the Holy Spirit) is often insufficient in dealing with the atheists, agnostics, and "secular humanists"  rampant in the pro-abortion ranks.

Here is where arguments from reason and natural law--the bases of much of our legal system--come in handy, and generally are more effective than religious argumentation with opposition forces that are (as is often the case) atheists.

By exposing the evils of abortion from the reasoned and natural law standpoint (i.e, the inalienable rights of all people to life and the personhood of the fetus), not only do practitioners of the reasoned rebuttal method conclusively show that abortion is a violation of the inalienable rights of babies (and highlight the contradictions of abortion proponents who claim compassion and the "rights" of women as their reasons), it embarrasses opposition forces in the area they cherish most--their presumed intellectual superiority over pro-lifers.

In short, LIFEGUARD believes in prayerful, spirit-inspired Christian counseling and intervention at abortion facilities, but it also--as a fitting answer to the heavy-handed blow of the FACE Act (the act barring sit-ins at abortion facilities) to time-honored principles of civil disobedience--believes in keen and devastating rebuttal of opposition conceits and fallacies from its own secular standpoints, and unflinching criticism of opposition and behavior while avoiding judgments about individual character God-given dignity.

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