|
'08 Walk for Life * PICTURES FROM 2006 MARCH FOR LIFE * Pregnancy Centers          About Us Volunteer Donate Home |
Pro-lifers share a common goal. We want to end
abortion and build a world which respects the
lives of all God's children, born and unborn.
But not all pro-lifers agree on the best strategy
for achieving that goal.
The millions of Americans who have worked with
National Right to Life, its state affiliates, or
its community chapters during the past 28 years
have saved the lives of countless unborn babies
through a carefully thought out strategy of
intensive education, legislation, and political
action. Our strategy is sometimes called
"incremental" because we have advanced toward our
goal in increments, rather than waiting to pass
perfect legislation.
We have seized every available opportunity to save
as many lives and make the maximum progress
possible each day and each year without
compromising our ultimate goal.
Legislatively, we support full, legal protection
for unborn children. We also support more limited
legislation, which can be passed more quickly, to
begin saving lives immediately.
Since 1973, National Right to Life and its
affiliates have spearheaded the passage of
hundreds of lifesaving bills in Congress and the
state legislatures.
A study of just one parental notification law in
one state for four years indicated that abortions
were reduced among teenagers by 15%. Restrictions
on public funding of abortion, banning
partial-birth abortion, or requiring that women
seeking abortions be given the facts about the
development of unborn babies have saved thousands
of lives and advanced the cause of the innocents.
These laws have saved lives not in theory but in
practice.
We have also supported thousands of electable
pro-life candidates pledged to support pro-life
legislation. When a candidate's pro-life position
was good, but not perfect, we made a careful
judgement about how we could best save the most
lives. Sometimes that meant the first priority was
defeating a dangerous pro-abortion enemy.
Others have a different strategy. They would vote
for a candidate they think is perfect who has no
chance of election rather than a good candidate
who could be elected.
These pro-lifers wanted us to stand by and allow
Al Gore to be elected President rather than vote
for George W. Bush, who had a strong pro-life
record as governor and who had pledged to pro-life
policies which would save many unborn babies. They
were willing to let Al Gore carry out his campaign
promises to the pro-abortionists and unleash a
slaughter of the innocents such as this country
had never seen before. Fortunately, millions of
pro-life people, Republicans, Democrats, and
Independents alike, knew better and voted for
George W. Bush.
Our strategy saves real living babies and
strengthens the movement. Their strategy results
only in dead babies.
President Bush started making pro-life changes
immediately. He barred the government from funding
groups which promote abortion overseas; he put
pro-life people in the key cabinet positions; he
stopped the promotion of abortion by U.S.
representatives at the United Nations; and he
promoted pro-life bills in Congress. Millions of
unborn babies who would have died in America and
worldwide under a Gore administration will live
because George W. Bush is President.
Without Bush and the other pro-life public
officials our votes have elected over the years,
and without the legislation pro-life work has
passed, millions of children who are alive today
would have died a horrible death in the womb.
We understand there are pro-lifers who see our
strategy as letting some unborn babies die. But
they need to understand that we see their strategy
as letting all the unborn babies die until we can
save them all.
But let's look at the bottom line.
Our strategy saves real living babies and
strengthens the movement. Their strategy results
only in dead babies now and a movement in danger
of withering due to legislative inaction and
stagnation; a movement which is unlikely ever to
protect any babies.
For those who are unwilling or unable to accept
the harsh truth of this reality, who think that
perfection could be achieved if only we worked
harder or were more unified, we ask them to simply
count the votes.
Likewise, saying that legislative compromises
should be made only by politicians ignores the
fact that without pro-life input, the laws passed
would be far weaker.
When there is any real chance of success for
perfect pro-life candidates or perfect pro-life
legislation, we will be their strongest
supporters.
We too pray for a miracle which transcends
everyday reality and saves all the children now.
But miracles come in God's own good time and
place.
Until then, we believe our mission is to do what
we really can do every day to save real unborn
babies. We also passionately believe that this is
the best way to hasten ultimate victory. It will
be a tough struggle. We will mourn the loss of
babies we cannot save, but we will not let that
stop us from saving the babies we can.
[Note: Darla St. Martin is the Associate Executive
Director of the National Right to Life Committee.]
Source: Pro-life Infonet
Be a TLC Lifeguard
Before You Leave...
|