January 26, 2011

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By Dave Andrusko

Good evening and thanks for being part of the discussion. Part Two celebrates pro-life New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie while Part Three analyses the rationing components contained in President Obama's State of the Union address last night. Over at National Right to Life News Today (www.nationalrighttolifenews.org), we have a wonderful story about children with Down syndrome, a spirited criticism of a state Supreme Court decision, and terrific news about a vote in France! To do the best job possible I need your feedback on both Today's News & Views and National Right to Life News Today. Please send your comments to daveandrusko@gmail.com. If you like, join those who are following me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/daveha.

Over the past few days I've engaged in what were (at least for me) eye-opening correspondences with three gentlemen, two of whom would probably consider themselves "thoughtfully pro-choice," the third who is a solidly pro-life "realist." I mention this because regardless of their starting points, all agreed that the ground is shifting on abortion--and by that they did not mean only, or even primarily, as a result of the electoral earthquake last November which toppled hundreds of pro-abortion legislators at the state and federal levels, in addition to opening the doors to a number of new pro-life governors.

We talked about the Perfect Storm of events that, I argued, is collectively destroying the foundational myths--that abortion: is (relatively) rare and performed essentially only in the first trimester; is "safe"; and is promoted by people who actually want to limit the number of abortions.

Of course we know that abortion savagely takes the lives of 1.2 million babies each and every year, emotionally maims women--and worse--, corrupts the very authorities who are charged with regulating abortion clinics, and is an open invitation to the most wretched people to join the abortionists' ranks. And although only a tiny percentage of people know this, at least 18,000 babies are aborted after the 21st week of pregnancy, which is fine by those who-- when they look at huge babies--see not human beings but the exercise of "autonomy."

But suddenly, the dark corners of the Abortion Industry are no longer shrouded in secrecy. Except for the most extremist pro-abortionist who will always avert their eyes, what the public is seeing is a ghastly picture of brutality, indifference, and cruelty. Before we begin with the shocking report out of New York City in early January that 41% of all pregnancies--and 60% of all African-American babies!--are aborted, it's important to remember that initially minute cracks in public opinion had already grown into sizeable fissures.

For example, in 2009 for the first time more people self-identified as pro-life in a Gallup poll than pro-choice. And what do pro-abortionist do with the knowledge that the Millennials are the most pro-life generation ever. A 2010 Knights of Columbus/Marist poll found that 58 % of people ages 18 to 29 believe abortion are morally wrong. That helps explain why campus pro-life groups are growing like topsy. (See "An Open Letter Offers Sage Advice: Dear Pro-Life Student" at http://www.nrlc.org/NewsToday/SageAdvice.html.)

Back to New York City. In December 2009, the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene reported that 41% of all pregnancies in the five boroughs of New York ended in abortion--a percentage that has been unchanged for each of the last three years. (By comparison, the Guttmacher report found that in 2008, the national abortion ratio was right at 22%.) A total of 87,273 abortions were performed in New York in 2009, or roughly 7% of the overall national total. (If it weren't for the hard evidence provided by the city, the sheer numbers would almost seem unbelievable.)

Earlier this month when the recently-formed Chiaroscuro Foundation sponsored a press conference which brought together religious, civic, and political leaders to draw attention to these incredible figures, pro-abortionists, of course, tried to change the subject. (See "A Grim Story from New York City" at www.nrlc.org/NewsToday/GrimStory.html.)

But hardly had the usual pro-abortion suspects blown the dust off of their customary non-sequitors than a Grand Jury indicted Philadelphia abortionist Kermit Gosnell on eight counts of murder, seven of whom were babies delivered alive whose spines he "snipped."

"One victim was killed at 26 weeks," writes Slate columnist William Saletan. "Another was killed at 28. A third was killed at 32. Some of the dead were 12 to 18 inches long. One had been moving and breathing outside the womb for 20 minutes. The report alleges hundreds of such atrocities. One employee admitted to severing the spinal cords of 100 babies, each one beyond 24 weeks."

Incredibly, 38 years after Roe v. Wade, a majority of people still harbor the illusion that abortion is legal only in the first trimester. New York City's open season on babies of color combined with Gosnell's ghastly slaughterhouse in the Mantua section of West Philadelphia (which also enticed almost exclusively poor women of color) blew the doorjambs off of that mythunderstanding. While pro-abortion President Barack Obama can breezily issue a statement affirming his commitment "to protecting this constitutional right" on the 38th anniversary of Roe, that part of America which is following the Gosnell saga is not buying it. They are asking "Is THIS the real face of abortion?"

And it's not just Americans who've been outsiders who've had the breath knocked out of them. When the actions of abortionists like Gosnell are brought to light, there must be a kind of crisis of confidence among pro-abortionists whose consciences have not been euthanized.

But if you read the back-and-forth in that community, it is clear the absolutists still control the high ground (so to speak). They are adamant: your pro-choice credentials will be pulled if there is ever a circumstance that gives you the slightest pause.

That would include the following from the Grand Jury report:

After dealing with "the relatively few cases that could be specifically documented" [because Gosnell destroyed records] that dealt with unborn babies 26-30 weeks old who were born alive and allegedly killed, the Grand Jury writes, "And these were not even the worst cases. Gosnell made little effort to hide his illegal abortion practice. But there were some, 'the really big ones,' that even he was afraid to perform in front of others. These abortions were scheduled for Sundays, a day when the clinic was closed and none of the regular employees were present.

"Only one person was allowed to assist with these special cases – Gosnell's wife. The files for these patients were not kept at the office; Gosnell took them home with him and disposed of them. We may never know the details of these cases. We do know, however, that, during the rest of the week, Gosnell routinely aborted and killed babies in the sixth and seventh month of pregnancy."

What about "The Sunday babies"? They "must have been bigger still."

I'm not sure what can be said--or shown--to people who can shrug this off--indeed, who see this as an opportunity to test faithfulness to the "cause."

But here's what NBC Philadelphia.com's Teresa Masterson wrote last week.

"Perhaps more disturbing than an alleged sociopathic doctor who told his staff that babies' movements after birth were 'reflexes,' and that shoving scissors in the back of the neck of a breathing child was 'standard procedure,' is the fact that this group of people believed and accepted Gosnell's practices and allegedly followed suit," writes Masterson.

"The only time some of them questioned his method was when Gosnell allegedly killed a baby boy that was so large its legs and arms hung over the shoe box in which Gosnell threw him. Gosnell joked that the baby could have 'walked him to the bus stop,' staff testified. It was only then that three of the employees felt something was wrong and took a picture of the baby.

"While the estimated six-pound baby was visibly breathing 'the doctor just slit the neck,' said Kareema Cross. When asked why she and two other employees took a picture of the baby, Cross told the grand jury:' Because it was big and it was wrong and we knew it. We knew something was wrong.'"

Part Two
Part Three