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NRL News
A
Beautiful Sight to See
“National
Sanctity of Human Life Day serves as a reminder that we must value
human life in all forms, not just those considered healthy, wanted,
or convenient. Together, we can work toward a day when the dignity
and humanity of every person is respected.”
“As
president of the National Right to Life Committee, my mother, Wanda
Franz, has been its public face for over 15 years. Yet she still
lit-drops parking lots every election cycle, just like the rest of
us.”
“Surprise
Child is loving in spirit and life-affirming in every way that
matters. When you finish the final chapter, you’ll feel like
cheering, as if you’d just watched Rocky. The stories of the 25 or
so women chronicled in the book are a testimony to the power of the
human spirit and the strength that faith in a loving God provides.”
Mucking up an editorial about January 22 commemorative activities would be like a professional rodeo rider falling off a wooden horse. Pretty hard to do, given the enthusiasm, dedication, verve, and imagination of pro-lifers on display from one end of this great nation to another. You might say that the winsome smiles, the lusty “Roe must go” cheers, and the sheer multitude of the young people that we talk about (and show) in this issue represent a condensed version of all that frightens pro-abortionists. Our benighted opposition can suture together mindless platitudes and false bravado until the cows come home, but that wouldn’t fill the holes in their arguments or mend the wounds in the hearts of millions of women who have taken the lives of their own children. Abortion is ugly and bloody, a hideously wrong turn taken when the unfamiliar road ahead seems to stretch out beyond a woman’s capacity to see or to comprehend. It is a disastrously wrong decision which we attempt to help vulnerable women to avoid and, should that fail, hold their hands and help them find solace and healing. In the wake of the November elections, pro-abortionists alternate between prudence and chest-beating, between a realistic assessment (their candidates did not win because of their support for abortion) and assertions that they have a “mandate” to widen the killing fields. Either way, we know their rhetoric will crackle with contempt for pro-lifers, all the while they piously insist that they are attempting to find “common ground.” Our job is to hold the fort until the next elections: Fend off pro-abortion initiatives, maintain pro-life policies enacted under President Bush, and, where possible, buttress protection for the littlest Americans. It also means, as the stories on pages one and three carefully explain, making sure that ordinary citizens are not prohibited or limited from spending what they must to get lifesaving medical treatment, food, and fluids. As the story that begins on page 17 details, nationwide pro-lifers were visible throughout the days surrounding the 34th anniversary of the wretched Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions. In some locations, it was cold as the dickens. In other states, marchers plowed through snow. Regardless of weather conditions, pro-lifers sent the same warm message of solidarity with unborn children. As our special January issue illustrated, National Right to Life is firmly dedicated to helping equip the next generation of pro-life leaders. Let me offer just two additional illustrations of this commitment. Last month young people came to the National Teens for Life Summit. (See page 11.) In every sense of the term it was a mountain-top experience. Next summer, NRLC will begin the “National Right to Life Academy,” a six-week summer program sponsored by the National Right to Life Educational Trust Fund, complete with college-level courses, a reading list, and loads of hands-on training. (See page 16.) What does this, and much, much more tell us? That in a thousand ways, small and large, subtle and overt, the Movement is replenishing itself to sustain its work on behalf of unborn babies, children at risk because they are born with serious injuries, and the medically vulnerable elderly. Abortion is the ultimate intergenerational rupture. The partnership between National Right to Life and high school- and college-age students is intended to help repair that fissure by tutoring these young people in the educational and ethical basics. The perimeter surrounding the “right” to abortion is patrolled by forces armed with deceit, desperation, and dis-information. The best way to breach those defenses is with education wrapped in compassion and concern for both mother and child. I would like to close from something I sent to a class I lead. It’s from the book, Words I Wish I Wrote: A Collection of Writing That Inspired My Ideas, by Robert Fulghum. Most of us know him for his mega-big seller, All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. He is writing about what he believes, and how that has changed and deepened over the years, and what books played the most instrumental roles in that transformation. And then Fulghum writes this: “Look at this line of thought from another angle. Consider these questions: If your life were made into a movie, and that movie had an appropriate sound track, and I bought a CD of the music, what kind of music would it be? What mood would it leave me in when I played it? What would I recognize?” When I accompanied the probably 100,000 pro-lifers who marched up the streets past the Supreme Court, it was easy to see that the bulk of that massive throng was 21 and younger. If what these young people represented could be compared to Fulghum’s movie sound track, it was easy to recognize the music. They sang songs of joy, and all were dedicated to unborn babies for whom the modern world is not a terribly hospitable place. They wore their emotions on their sleeves, and in spite of the somberness of the occasion, their hopeful, passionate embrace of the cause of life left my spirits soaring. It was a beautiful sight to see. |