Pro-Life Tricks

Wavy TV

Some parents in Smithfield are extremely upset after they say trick-or-treaters received more than just candy in their goody bags Sunday night.

At one home, the parents say children received graphic anti-abortion literature.

The small pamphlet, included in a baggie containing regular Halloween treats, was designed to look like a supermarket tabloid. The headline read "Mother Hires Killer to Hack Child to Pieces," and when unfolded, the pamphlet contained a graphic image of what appeared to be an aborted fetus.

Parents who spoke with WAVY News 10 say, regardless of your stance on abortion, the message was inappropriate for children.

People trick-or-treating in the Moonfield area of Smithfield stopped a police office on patrol in the neighborhood. The officer told them that the home that was passing out the pamphlets had a right to do so. Though a criminal investigation is not under way, officers call it an unethical way to get a message across.

Capt. Alonzo Howell, Smithfield Police Department, says, "It is very distasteful. It is actually appalling. I would be offended if my child had come home with that type of literature."

Members of the Mills Swamp Baptist Church out of Ivor have taken responsibility for the pamphlets. They say the incident was a big mistake and that children were never suppose to receive the pamphlets.