MAKING IT SAFE TO COME BACK HOME

"Do we have enough of God's love in us to find the image of God in others?"

The Rev. Michael Mannion, NRLC '99 Prayer Breakfast

"The Michigan Court of appeals has abolished the tort of 'wrongful birth.' In so doing, it has strengthened the right of the disabled to a presumption that their lives are as valuable as the lives of the nondisabled."

Detroit News editorial, July 2

"About every 3 1/2 minutes a baby is born who would be dead if the abortion numbers today were the same as they were at their peak. About every 3 1/2 minutes your actions have saved a child's life."

NRLC Executive Director David N. O'Steen, Ph.D., NRLC '99

Examining NRLC's annual convention is liking holding up a diamond to the light. There are so many facets to this thing of beauty that it's hard not to be dazzled. Yet, while we may be awed by its beautiful complexity, I wonder how a neutral outsider might evaluate "the pro-life educational event of the year"?

Take a teacher who might have audited NRLC '99. The picture that might have stuck in her mind's eye is of a kind of three-day tutorial, an intellectual smorgasbord for knowledge-hungry pro-lifers. How about a pastor or rabbi as yet not swept into the pro-life orbit? Listening to powerful testimonies running over with compassion for the hurting, he could easily have come away humbled by a band of ordinary people who evidently write on their calenders every day the admonition to "live out my faith in service to the least among us."

Through the eyes of a motivational psychologist, this gathering of over 1,000 might have conjured up images of a successful pep rally, one that serves to strengthen bonds among a hardy band of grassroots activists. After all, it's fun to share time with people who live not for themselves but for others.

Come to think of it, imagine the inner turmoil of a fair-minded but brainwashed reporter. How does this assembly of genuinely decent people, who speak passionately of making the pro-life movement a safe refuge for women who've aborted their babies, square with the one-dimensional caricature of an unfeeling, judgmental cult that dominates so much reporting?

One way to think about what happened June 24-26 is to understand that the content of each annual NRLC convention operates as a mirror, reflecting the Movement's priorities. For obvious reasons, legislation of all stripes has been held up in Congress. The floodgates may be about to open so naturally our people were admonished to be ready to respond quickly. (See action alerts, back cover and page 8.) Likewise, participants were advised that gearing up for next year must begin now and not to wait a minute to take advantage of NRLC's excellent educational materials. (See page 32.)

But here is a second sense the mirror imagery is apt. NRLC '99 could also be seen as part of the quest by its participants to become transparent people. By this I mean when they look in the mirror, they wish to see a reflection of men and women whose underlying love for women and their unborn children is not sullied by anger nor hampered by disappointment.

Idealistic? Of course, but this is a great strength, not a weakness. You are not ivory tower idealists who talk about the good, the true, and lovely but leave the heavy lifting to someone else. You are practical idealists for whom the notion of uncoupling soaring sentiments from unglamorous but indispensable grunt work is simply unintelligible. Draw strength from the sure knowledge that each day you breath new life into the great tradition of American reform movements.

When you have been in the presence of the likes of Paul Greenberg, Mary Jane Owen, and the Rev. Mike Mannion, as we were in Milwaukee, you appreciate just how much intellectual and spiritual fire power we have on our side. Their talent is to see it whole, to explain the seamless garment of death. In Greenberg's words, "Abortion today, euthanasia tomorrow, eugenics next in our brave new cloned world."

Mary Jane Owen forthrightly reminded her audience at the closing banquet that few of us are immune from the temptation to judge

people by the false standards of our world. We base much of our judgment of people on outward appearances - - and that can even include those whom we would and do save. Thankfully, when I returned there was the editorial from the Detroit News, quoted at the beginning.

Last month, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled that "the birth of a child, even a disabled one, cannot by itself be considered a wrongful action," the Detroit News editorialized. In "wrongful birth" suits parents seek damages, arguing that the hospital - - by "negligently" failing to tell them of their child's disabilities - - had denied them the right to abort their child. Stranger yet is "wrongful life," where the "plaintiff" (typically parents suing on behalf of a child who has been born with disabilities) contends that the child would be better off dead!

But the Michigan Court of Appeals would have none of that. It quoted one of its prior decisions which had thrown out wrongful life suits. In that case, the court said that "All of life is presumptively valuable. Simply stated a child shall not be considered a 'harm' to its parents so as to allow recovery for the customary cost of raising the child." Building on that prior decision, the court drew two conclusions.

First, noting that the earlier case dealt with a "healthy" child, the appeals court said that it should not "implicitly endorse the view that the life of a disabled child is worth less than the life of a healthy child." Second, the distinction between wrongful life and wrongful birth is fundamentally inconsistent. If one fails to pass constitutional muster, so, too, does the other.

Finally, Fr. Mannion issued the toughest challenge. It is one thing to see the "image of God" in a woman who deluded herself into taking the life of her baby. Our hearts already ache for her and her baby. A tougher sell, but doable, is the boyfriend who has coerced her into the abortion.

But the abortionist?! Fr. Mannion came at this in many ways, employing many vivid images and compelling stories, such as how Michelangelo was able to sculpt his masterpiece "David" out of flawed and cracked marble. But the most telling argument for me was the simplest: "It's hard to be angry and love at the same time."

NRLC '99 was a powerful, compelling, reassuring experience. The following observation from Paul Greenberg best prepared me to do all that I must do. Perhaps it may help you as well.

"No cause is forever lost, " he said, "not in this ever-changing world. Because no cause is forever won. That's the nature of politics. Of ideas. Of faith. Day by day we make our own choices. And the folks gathered here have chosen life."

dha