Monica Dux (Bloody tactics blur the truth on RU486) suggests pro-choice people should counter the "ghoulish fascination" of fundamentalist pro-life websites and their bloody depictions of aborted foetuses by recruiting Jesus for their side.

I see the proud poster now; our Lord, wearing an apron, a screaming child tucked under each arm, his hair and beard greasy and unwashed, waiting for the next single parent payment to come in, wishing that abortion had been an option when he and Mary Magdalene had that little slip-up. The slogan: "If it weren't for the twins I could have really amounted to something." Maybe this will do the trick.

Well, what are you waiting for? I'd do it if I knew how. Someone please take up Monica Dux' suggestion. Send a copy to me for instant publication, and a copy to her c/o The Age. I'm sure she'll know who to forward it to. Such a poster could -- and should -- become a banner for the pro-choice movement.

Here are some further excerpts from her column:

Those zealously opposed to legal terminations thrive on emotion. It is their most potent and compelling weapon and they use it with promiscuous pleasure. With all the subtlety of a Danish Muhammad cartoon, the pro-life lobby discard all nuance and drown all debate with the simple cry of "baby murder".

There's a ghoulish fascination in viewing the images of aborted foetuses that litter right-to-life websites. The Pro-Life Victoria site is particularly charming. There you'll find a page featuring two bald headings: "Alive Children" and "Dead Children; aborted". The first page delights with images of happy, healthy babies, smiling joyfully at the camera. On the second, one is bombarded with pictures of blackened and mutilated foetuses.

These gratuitous pictures have no context or explanation. But such manipulative tactics achieve the desired effect. Who cares about rational argument and subtle distinctions when you're confronted with an image of a dead baby?

Maybe it's time the pro-choice lobby adopted similar tactics? What about a website featuring "Happy Women and Children" and "Sad Women and Children"? Click on the former and you are treated to rosy scenes of women living full and meaningful lives, gaining an eduction, making employment decisions that ensure a financially stable future, enjoying a healthy relationship with a decent, loving partner, and finally having a child that is happy, healthy and wanted. On the other page we would see teary mothers and unwanted babies: wasted lives, lost opportunities, splintered families and neglected children

Be sure to read the whole article.