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Abortion Is Not A “Necessary Evil”

With national news covering both the controversy over the life of Terri Schiavo in Florida and the ban on the partial birth abortion procedure in Washington, Dennis Byrne writes in Monday’s Chicago Tribune that “sooner, rather than later, this country must define what a person is.”

Excluding Persons

This is a question that has divided the nation in the past — in fact, it was a major cause of the American Civil War. Says Byrne, “the extension of personhood to all human life is the gravest labor of our times, one that will mark us true believers in the words ‘unalienable right of life liberty and the pursuit of happiness,’ or hypocrites.” If America is ever to live up to its potential — to be the society most of us envision it to be, we must stop excluding certain segments of humanity from the classification of “person.”

I visited Mount Vernon over the past weekend and read on a plaque that in 1799 George Washington had 316 slaves at his plantation. He believed that slavery was wrong and arranged for the freedom of his slaves after his death, but he supported the institution of slavery and the owning of human beings as property during his lifetime.

A Necessary Evil?

In 2003, we cannot imagine that anyone would insist that slavery should be tolerated as a necessary evil, but we accept the argument that abortion is a necessary evil. The day will come when future Americans will look at that incongruity and think that those Americans who believed in abortion and who tolerated it were barbaric. And indeed they are.

In this age, when so much is known about fetal development and about the intricate workings of the human body and mind, it is scientifically and morally insupportable to allow abortion, infanticide and euthanasia. Yet, rather than these abominations fading into oblivion, we witness an increasing hostility toward life.

We in the pro-life movement are blessed to have an opportunity to fight the culture of death. We applaud those who joined the fight for Terri Schiavo’s life by contacting Governor Jeb Bush’s office or participating in one of the protests in Florida. We thank those who went to an abortion mill this past weekend to pray or counsel or protest the killing of unborn babies. We are proud of those who participate in Face the Truth tours and show the reality of abortion to our fellow citizens.

The action of all of those who care enough about life to sacrifice their own time, comfort or finances to help save another’s life is what will ultimately bring about the culture of life.

Help Protest Jim Edgar

There is an opportunity to protest the pro-abortion former governor of Illinois, Jim Edgar. Edgar will be speaking at St. Xavier University, a Catholic college in Chicago on Wednesday, October 29. Vote Life America will conduct the protest at 3700 W. 103rd St. (just east of Pulaski) at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday evening. Signs will be provided. For further information, contact Jim Finnegan at 847-526-1152.

Join Us at Festival of Faith

On Friday, October 31, and Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 1 and 2, the Catholic Archdiocese of Chicago will hold a Festival of Faith at Navy Pier. The Pro-Life Action League will have a booth at this Festival of Faith to distribute pro-life information. Anyone who is interested in volunteering for a couple of hours to help spread the pro-life message, please call the League at 773-777-2900. Ask for Ann.

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