"What We Know"

By Jacki Ragan
NRLC State Organizational Development Director

One of my favorite "sound-bites" following the 1992 presidential election was, "Wake me in 1996 and tell me it was all just a very bad dream!" Now, after eight years of the most pro-abortion administration our country has ever known, we either will awake from this nightmare or endure at least four more years of it.

In just a few short weeks, our nation will go to the polls to elect the next administration to run our great nation. For most of the general public, the abortion issue will not rank high in their thoughts on November 7. After all, it is one of "those" issues that most Americans prefer not to think about.

And yet we know there is a sharp, 100% contrast in the abortion positions of the two presidential candidates that have any chance of winning, Al Gore and George W. Bush.

We know that a President Al Gore would mean just four more of the last eight years--vetoes of any pro-life legislation that passes Congress, the appointment of solidly pro-abortion judges, a constant din of pro-abortion rhetoric, and the loss of millions of innocent unborn lives. The only thing we don't know for certain is whether it could be worse!

We know that Texas Gov. George W. Bush is pro-life and that his administration would be guided by that principle. We know he will work to change the direction of abortion on demand in our country. We know he will appoint judges who will interpret the Constitution according to its actual text (which contains NO " right" to abortion). We know he will provide an opportunity to enact pro-life legislation that will save innocent unborn children.

The pro-life movement has a vast job before us in the coming weeks. We stand at a crossroad, but we need to make absolutely certain that we know which direction we are heading. There are many efforts that every single pro-life person in America must make in the coming weeks.

And, if you are truly pro-life, making an all-out effort is not optional. Each one of us must decide for him- or herself just how important the lives of unborn babies are to them.

Make no mistake, the other side is mobilizing and preparing one of the largest campaigns they have ever waged. According to a September 13 Reuters article written by political correspondent Alan Elsner, the "abortion rights" groups are planning a multi- million-dollar grassroots effort to mobilize women to vote for pro-abortion Democrat Al Gore November 7.

The effort, said to have a target of over two million women, is being spearheaded by NARAL and Planned Parenthood. It is being partly financed by the Turner Foundation, an organization dedicated to "curbing" world population growth, established by pro- abortion CNN founder Ted Turner.

They believe they can actually beat us at our own game: grassroots organizing. Fat chance of that!

Like a huge generator producing megawatts of electricity, grassroots strength and readiness are the power source for the right to life movement. We have never and will never be able to match the pro-abortion groups' funding or support from the " mainstream media." But we don't need to.

However, to offset their advantages, we must make every effort to inform citizens in our communities. National Right to Life continues to provide free literature for you to distribute that outlines and explains in clear language the positions of the two major candidates.

However, if this literature merely gathers dust in boxes stored in someone's basement, nothing good happens. The basic flyer, a very clear illustration of the huge differences between Gore and Bush, will only be effective if we distribute it in mass quantities.

(Don't forget, you can download the basic flyer comparing Bush and Gore at www.nrlc.org/ Election2000/gorebushcomparison.pdf.)

Don't assume that just because someone you know is pro-life, he or she understands the true positions of the candidates on the abortion issue. Public opinion poll after public opinion poll shows that a large percentage of people don't know where the candidates stand.

Make a commitment to personally get the message to at least 25 potential pro-life voters and then ask them to do the same. While it is true that many voters have already decided whom they are going to support, a very large percentage will not decide until they actually enter the voting booth.

Certainly, many issues will ultimately help decide the outcome of this election. But does any pro-lifer, no matter how committed he/she is, really want to chance waking up on November 8 and realizing that they really didn't do their part? Does any pro-lifer out there not realize that the outcome of this election will impact not only the next four years, but many generations to come?

In its over 27 years, the pro-life movement has faced countless critically important challenges. Some we have won and some we have lost.

Now, we face one of the most important challenges/opportunities that our movement has ever faced. The question is what each of us decide to do with that challenge/opportunity.

I am confident because I have confidence in you! I know that each of you is willing to stand up and be a strong voice for unborn children--with your vote, with your work of educating other individuals, with your labor, and with your heart.

On page 32 there is a checklist of activities you can be a part of that will help make the difference. Please read it carefully and share it with those who share your commitment to unborn babies.

The babies are counting on us!

There is a famous saying that could stand as the pro-life movement's founding motto:

Pray as if everything depends on God, and work as if everything depends on us.

Leave no stone unturned, no person uninformed. Standing strong and working together, we know we will make the difference!

Paid for by the NRL Political Action Committee. Not Authorized by any candidate.