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NRL News
What We
Know and Why That Matters 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 hundreds of thousands of men and women have died to protect. Four years ago, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, 89% of registered voters took a few minutes out of their schedules to vote. But note that many people didn’t bother even to register: only 64% of those old enough to vote cast a ballot. Likewise in 2000 86% of those registered to vote (and only 60% of those eligible to vote) participated in an election so close that its final outcome was not determined for 35 days afterwards. 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 4. After all, it is one of “those” issues that make most Americans uncomfortable. They prefer not to think about it. And yet we know that it is no exaggeration to say that Sen. John McCain and Gov. Sarah Palin comprise a pro-life presidential ticket that has the Abortion Establishment up in arms. By contrast, for NARAL and Planned Parenthood, the duo of Senators Barack Obama and Joe Biden constitute their “dream ticket.” Senator Obama and Senator McCain could not take more diametrically opposed positions on the question of extending protection to unborn children. In the case of Sen. Obama, as an Illinois state senator he also played a major role in killing legislation to protect born-alive survivors of abortions—and has spent four years trying to cover up his involvement. We know that a President Obama 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. In a 2007 speech to the Planned Parenthood Action Council, Obama vowed to make his first priority as President passage of the “Freedom of Choice Act.” FOCA is so radical it would extinguish virtually every state and federal law limiting abortion in any way and would re-legalize partial-birth abortion! We know that Sen. John McCain 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 “when every child is welcomed in life and protected in law.” We know he has a track record that he can proudly run on. 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 the back cover, 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 that Sen. Obama is pro-abortion and that Sen. McCain is pro-life. 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 4 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 35 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 decides 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 the back cover 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. |