HT - Canon 212
LifeNews (not to be confused with LifeSiteNews) announced a letter that it co-signed along with several other pro-life organizations. In a nutshell, these groups pledged to support no pro-life legislation unless said legislation held harmless women who underwent abortions. The letter itself is on the site of National Right to Life, another signatory, but it can be accessed through the LifeNews site. Below I will detail why I believe this letter to be a complete exercise of foolishness.
First, let me establish that I am not just speaking off the cuff. I have been involved in the pro-life movement for over 30 years. For 25+ of those years, I've been in front of abortuaries most Saturday mornings, praying and offering information regarding life-affirming assistance to abortion-bound women. I have been blessed to be part of a number of these women turning around and giving birth to their children. Most of the time it has been both tedious and heart-breaking, as most women we've encountered go through with the abortions. Along with that, there were occasions that I've been cursed, spit upon, and even assaulted. My knowledge about these matters did not come cheaply.
The letter states that the woman "is a victim of a callous industry created to take lives". I might point out that the abortionist does not go in search of these women; rather they walk into his/her office. Does she go willingly? It is true that many don't. I have seen plenty of cases where women are almost literally dragged in by boyfriends, parents, pimps, etc. However, I've also seen cases where the woman defiantly marches into the mill, trailed by a boyfriend pleading for the life of his child through his tears.
Many women are ignorant of what an abortion entails. On the other hand, many know but just don't care. Not all abortion-bound women can be painted with the same broad brush; they are different from each other just as would be members of any other demographic group. With those differences comes differences in levels of culpability; the authors and the signers of this letter ignore that fact.
Most egregious of this letter, though, is the denial of the primacy of place due to the most vulnerable victims, the ones who have the most to lose - the unborn children. Indeed, the letter dwells incessantly on considerations regarding the mother, while paying scant attention to the plight of the children.
The authors and signers of this brash tome state that they will never support anti-abortion legislation that criminalizes the woman who procures an abortion. They say this without any qualifications, which seems to indicate that no matter how much protection for the child a piece of legislation might offer, if the mother is penalized, these pro-life organizations won't support it. I find this to be utterly despicable. Once again, the innocent child, who has first claims on our solicitude for his/her well-being, is being relegated to the bottom of the totem pole. The pro-aborts do that! Should we emulate that?
I can only think of one reason for this lunacy. Pro-aborts everywhere are literally up in arms over the very real prospect of Roe's overdue negation. Can there be a hint of groveling in this letter towards the pro-aborts, to placate them by implying that the babies are not as important as women? Are some of us that desperate for the evil-doers to like us and approve of us? We need to shake off that tendency. For that reason, I state right now that I denounce this letter and call upon the signers to recant their signatures.