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NRL News Changing America One Heart at a Time Excerpts of Speech given by Rep. Chris Smith to young people at NRLC 2008 On the White House lawn this past April President Bush welcomed the Pope Benedict XVI by saying in part: “In a world where some treat life as something to be debased and discarded, we need your message that all human life is sacred ... and your message that ‘each of us is willed, each of us is loved, and each of us is necessary.’ In a world where some no longer believe that we can distinguish between simple right and wrong, we need your message to reject this ‘dictatorship of relativism’ and embrace a culture of justice and truth.” Sadly this message appears to the world to be a mere minority opinion easily dismissed and trivialized. Many today have the audacity to assert that certain types of profoundly immoral behaviors are, somehow, hallowed and protected. ... Thirty-five years after the infamous Supreme Court decision Roe v. Wade—a judicial fiat that legalized abortion on demand in our country—the taking of innocent human life remains a serious, lethal violation of fundamental human rights. To date, approximately 50 million unborn children have been killed in the United States—a staggering loss of unborn life. Despite setbacks and the high hurdle of reversing a Supreme Court decision, we will never quit until this gross injustice is reversed. The right to life is, or should be, for everyone, regardless of age, race, condition of dependency, disability, or stage of development. Both the United States Congress and every lawmaking institution throughout the world has a duty to protect everyone at risk—not just the planned, the privileged, and the perfect. ... Unborn children, like their older brothers and sisters, have inherent worth, value, and dignity. They are children too. They are not disposable commodities, nor are they junk. American jurisprudence—and public officials in all three branches of our government—too often treat them that way. In like manner we need to more effectively help and protect expectant mothers—all mothers—many of whom are under enormous pressure to abort. Our love for them must be sacrificial and real. They too need advocates. We have a responsibility to help meet their physical, emotional, and spiritual needs—via pregnancy care centers, for example. In opposing abortion, we must also be radically pro-woman. ... I have been a Member of the U.S. Congress for 28 years and, along with my wife Marie, in the pro-life movement for 36 years. I have served as chairman of the Congressional Pro-Life Caucus for a quarter of a century. Like you, both Marie and I got involved as teenagers. We know what it is like to take the moral stand you have taken at school. We admire your courage, your compassion. Over the years, it has become abundantly clear to me, that pro-lifers must pray more, do more, network more, and coordinate more. But it all starts with prayer. In the simple eloquence of Jesus Himself; we ask the Father that “His will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven.” ... Any serious attempt to be of service in accomplishing “His will on earth” especially in the political sphere requires earnest prayer, noble sacrifice, systematic fasting, and hard work. ... We need to redouble our efforts and encourage you the young to consider politics. At every level, the young and old, but especially the young, need to be challenged to engage now in the fight for a culture of life. Few other venues offer as much opportunity to make a positive difference as politics. Our dioceses, churches, and schools need to more aggressively challenge your generation to get personally involved-as policymakers, judges, lawmakers, and professional staff. ... We need to change America one heart at a time until all life is welcome and protected. ... Let me conclude with an appeal for us all to more clearly see politics as a vital ministry, a vocation that must attract more believers. Some, many of you here might be future members of Congress and senators. Think about it. Pray about it. ... I believe now is the time for a dramatic infusion of strategically placed, competent, pro-life people of faith in government. ... I believe that anyone willing to learn can, with due diligence, master the art of policy making—it’s not rocket science. The ministry of politics begs and beckons; if enough people answer the call the world will be made safer for the family, including its smallest members—unborn children. |