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NRL News
NRL
Convention 2007: It was only fitting that the largest convention crowd in recent memory should be educated, motivated, and energized by one of the finest line up of pro-life speakers in convention history. Over 1,200 grassroots activists converged on Kansas City June 14-16 to be a part of NRL 2007—“Bringing Life to the Heart of America: Bringing the Heart of America to Life.” In addition to hearing from three Republican presidential candidates in person, attendees from as far away as England absorbed insights at four general sessions, a Prayer Breakfast, a closing Banquet, and 72 workshops. Convention director Jacki Ragan told NRL News that the extraordinary attendance was a reflection of all the hard work by the host state, Kansas, and NRLC staff and the advanced publicity that highlighted the wonderful lineup of speakers that included, among many others, Wesley Smith, J.D.; Archbishop Joseph Naumann; Bobby Schindler, Phill Kline, J.D.; and NRLC’s Burke Balch, J.D.; Dorothy Timbs Yeung, J.D.; and Executive Director David N. O’Steen, Ph.D. “Beginning with the Thursday morning opening session, you couldn’t miss how fired up the crowds were,” Ragan said. “They know they need to be at the top of their game, both to protect existing pro-life policies, repeal anti-life initiatives, and to make inroads where progress can be made.” Literally hundreds of speakers shared their experiences and expertise with workshop crowds that were not only sizeable in number but clearly very knowledgeable about the topics. And the range of subject matter touched everything from Abortion to “Respecting Time: the Art of Managing Your Meetings” — and everything in between. “We know that proponents of human cloning and embryonic stem cell ‘research’ are busily at work,” Ragan said. “So among the topics given most attention at the convention was how to talk to the American public so as to cut through all the hyperbole about what embryonic stem cells can allegedly do and prove that supporters of human cloning are hiding behind rhetoric that is so recklessly misleading as to border on out-and-out lies.” No three people are better equipped to do this than Wesley Smith, J.D.; David Prentice, Ph.D.; and Richard Doerflinger, and all spoke at NRLC 2007. Smith, a bioethicist, offered a tongue-in-cheek “Cliff’s Note” summary at the beginning of his talk on “How the Politics of Embryonic Stem Cell Research Has corrupted Science.” In some quarters science is being replaced by “scientism,” Smith said. Scientism is a dogma that, among other things, insists that “only scientists can tell us what is moral in science.” Those promoting embryonic stem cell research and cloning want a “blank check” to do anything they wish, free from oversight by the larger community, which is why they try to label opposition as “anti-science.” But this is not a scientific debate, Smith explained. “It’s a debate about ethics, about morality, about what is right and what is wrong — that is beyond the purview of science.” Of course scientists are to be part of the discussion “but so are we,” Smith told the audience. “And our voice is just as important as their voice, so long as we get the facts right about what we are describing. And we are, and they are not.” Prentice, a senior fellow for life sciences at the Family Research Council, and Doerflinger, deputy director of the USCCB’s Secretariat for Pro-life Activities, combined to deliver an exceptionally well-received three-workshop-long series on virtually all phases of the debates on stem cell research and cloning. (Like almost all talks, they can be ordered as either a cassette tape or a CD by going to the ad on pages x and y.) From ten o’clock the morning of June 14 when Smith spoke through ten o’clock the night of June 16, attendees were treated to a delicious mixture of humor, eloquence, and great passion. Thursday night Former Kansas Attorney General Phill Kline outlined his battle with the Abortion Establishment. He was the first prosecutor since Roe v. Wade was handed down to obtain abortion records from Planned Parenthood in an investigation of Planned Parenthood. Speaking of how pro-lifers model courage, Kline said, “For where one steps forward for what is right and true, others are inspired to follow.” At the same general session, the audience watched a video sent by former Tennessee Senator Fred Thompson. Thompson, who at the time of the convention had not entered the race for President, said, “I’m for adult stem cell research, not stem cell research where [human] embryos…are destroyed.” He added, “It looks to me like that there’s a lot of promising developments as far as adult stem cell research is concerned anyway and we don’t need to go down that other road.” Friday morning three formally announced candidates for the Republican nomination for President addressed a packed ballroom. Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney went first. “What became clear during the cloning debate [in Massachusetts],” he said, “is how the harsh logic of an absolute right to abortion had cheapened the value of human life to the point that rational people saw a human embryo as nothing more than mere research material to be used, and then thrown away and destroyed.” Cong. Ron Paul (Texas) went next. “Those who endorse the issue of having an abortion argue it from the case of privacy. I think privacy is a red herring; it has nothing to do with privacy. The only issue that counts is whether or not the fetus is legal and human, and deserves respect, and deserves protection of the law.” Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback went last. “Every life should be protected by our laws. Indeed, we must continue as you have so tirelessly done to fight for every life and everywhere,” he said. “The effect on a culture that does not treat human life as sacred has been tragic.” Prior to the session, the Prayer Breakfast featured Archbishop Joseph Naumann, an old friend. Archbishop Naumann carefully articulated the challenge of unapologetically making the case for life at the same time not “squander[ing] opportunities by speaking in a way that …makes it more difficult for those whose minds and hearts we seek to reach to understand about the sanctity of human life.” He told the Prayer Breakfast audience, “This is not a six-week or six-month or six-year war. We must be willing to make great, personal sacrifices for life to prevail.” No NRLC convention would be complete without a thorough investigation of “The Future of Health Care: The Coming Debate and Why Pro-Lifers Must be Involved,” the topic of the Saturday morning general session. NRLC Executive Director David N. O’Steen, Ph.D.; Burke Balch, J.D., director of NRLC’s Robert Powell Center for Medical Ethics; and Dorothy Timbs Yeung, J.D., legislative counsel for the Center; made the very complicated issue of health care rationing understandable Before Bobby Schindler, the brother of Terri Schindler Schiavo, closed the convention at the Saturday night banquet with a powerful message about Terri, convention goers were already purchasing tapes and CDs. Among the numerous subject areas which were very popular were how to move clergy and denominations in a pro-life direction, the pain suffered by both women and men following an abortion, the growing threat of euthanasia, how to use the Internet, and the latest information about Planned Parenthood. At the same time NRL 2007 was taking place, young people were actively involved in a parallel National Teens for Life convention. Convention director Jacki Ragan told NRL News to be sure to emphasize that whether you were at the convention or couldn’t make it, the tapes and CDs are invaluable resources. “And even while you are listening to the tapes and sharing them with friends, please keep in mind that NRL 2008 is July 3, 4, and 5 in Washington, D.C.,” she said. |