By Jacki Ragan
As you read and make use of this edition of National Right to Life News, there will be only a few short weeks before our great nation will go to the polls to elect the next President of the United States. Voting is an enormous privilege, one for which millions of men and women have died to protect, both here and abroad.
And as we have written in this newspaper more than once, four years ago, only 51.2% of the voting-age population in America chose to take a few minutes out of their schedules to vote in an election so close that its final outcome was not determined for 35 days afterwards. And in two states, including the pivotal state of Florida, fewer than 1,000 votes separated George W. Bush and Al Gore.
If polling data are to be believed, for much of the general public, the abortion issue will not rank highest in their thoughts on November 2. After all, it is one of "those" issues that makes most Americans uncomfortable. They prefer not to think about it.
And yet we know that it is no exaggeration to say that in George Bush and Dick Cheney we have the most pro-life presidential ticket in history. And for NARAL and Planned Parenthood, the duo of Senators John Kerry and John Edwards constitutes their "dream ticket." Senator Kerry and President Bush could not take more diametrically opposed positions on the question of extending protection to unborn children.
We know that a President Kerry would mean vetoes of any pro-life legislation that passes Congress, the appointment of solidly pro-abortion judges (he has already pledged to appoint only "pro-choice" justices to the Supreme Court), a constant din of pro-abortion rhetoric, and the loss of millions of innocent unborn lives. It is no accident that the Kerry campaign organized an April 23 gathering of the Abortion Establishment in Washington, D.C. His administration would be, in essence, a mouthpiece for NARAL and Planned Parenthood. The only thing we don't know for certain is whether it could be worse!
We know that President George W. Bush is pro-life and that his administration would continue to be guided by that principle.
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. We know that he is genuinely pro-life. We know he will continue to work for the day, as he has said so often, "when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law." We know he has a track record that he can proudly run on.
We know President George W. Bush was a leading force behind and then signed into law the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act, the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, and the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. During his first week in office, he reinstated the Mexico City Policy, which prevents tax funds from being given to organizations that perform and/or promote abortion overseas. President Bush declared that federal funds will not be used for stem cell research that would require the destruction of human embryos. His threatened veto stopped an attempt in the U.S. Senate to provide funding for such research. He strongly backs a U.S. ban on human cloning and helped defeat a "clone-and-kill" proposal in 2001. President Bush has done many other things to further the cause of the unborn child, both publicly and behind the scenes.
Make no mistake, we are at a crossroads. The other side brags about mobilizing and preparing the largest campaign they've ever waged. They are spreading the message that there is a need for "change" - - the election of a pro-abortionist - - to head a nation whose founding documents commit us to life, liberty, and justice for ALL.
Flush with money, they are hiring people to go out and canvass the neighborhoods in order to convince American voters to elect a man who thinks killing innocent unborn children is just fine.
They believe after years of watching us in envy, they can actually beat us at our own game: grassroots organizing. Fat chance of that!
But we must realize that the pro-life movement has a vast job to complete in a very short period of time. As you will see in the story on page 22, there are many efforts that every single pro-life person in America must make in the coming weeks. If you truly have a heart for the unborn, making an all-out effort on their behalf is not optional.
And what you can do is awesome. Like a huge generator that produces 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, provided each and every one of us makes every effort to inform citizens in our communities. And we are here to help you help the babies.
One last very important note of caution. 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. We can be sure that Sen. Kerry will do everything he can to sound like a "moderate."
Make a commitment to personally get the message to at least 25 potential pro-life voters and then ask each one of them to get the message to 25 more pro-life voters. True, many voters have already decided whom they are going to support, but it is no less true that a 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 3 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?
Over the last 31 years, the pro-life movement has faced countless critically important challenges. Many we have won and some others 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, which is really an opportunity.
I am confident that you will rise to this opportunity 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 22 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.
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!
The babies are counting on us!
Jacki Ragan is NRLC state organizational development director.
Paid for by the NRL Political Action Committee. Not authorized by any candidate.