Fearing No Evil

There is no telling for absolute sure when the Senate debate on cloning will take place (Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle originally promised March before abruptly pushing the date back to April), but it now appears that it will be sometime before May 24. Whatever happens, good or ill, know that National Right to Life will continue going all-out, throttle wide-open, opposing every effort to commodify early human embryos. That's why you have placed your trust in this organization. We won't let you down.

As this edition of the "right to life newspaper of record" came together, it struck me how one thread ran through so many stories, even some I did not have room to include. See if you agree.

First, there is the long, drawn-out fight over the euphemistically labeled campaign finance "reform." Opponents have cried foul, protesting that many of the bill's components are like rabbit punches to the solar plexus of free speech. Proponents won the first round, but opponents, such as NRLC, have asked a third party--the federal courts--to pay homage to the Constitution and overturn the decision.

Then there is the 11th hour veto by West Virginia Gov. Robert Wise of the recently passed Women's Right to Know Act. (See page 29.) He did so, champion of fair play that he is, at the last possible minute, leaving no chance for supporters to organize an override vote. But members of West Virginians for Life have not given up. Even as I write this they are working feverishly to secure signatures from legislators to petition the governor to call a special session.

Tom Strahan provides a much needed corrective on page 14. While the courts may completely miscast abortion as a "woman's issue" only, treating the opinions and attitudes of men as if they are superfluous to her decision is not only ethically challenged, but also completely ignores the real-world dynamics of a crisis pregnancy.

On page 30, you'll read about a case in North Dakota. A judge there ruled that an abortion clinic had not purposefully misstated the situation when it distributed brochures to prospective clients that boldly asserted there is no connection between an induced abortion and a heightened risk of breast cancer later in life.

In a story we'll run next time, the Rev. Ben Sheldon writes about a topic we don't explore enough in NRL News: why pastors fail to preach more on abortion. His insights, as always, illuminate a subject too often overlooked.

Also next time we'll feature Leslie Bond Diggins's amusing and powerful account of her reaction when asked to give a pro-life talk to 116 teenagers. What, you ask, do all these stories have in common? Fear.

The John McCains and the Russ Feingolds of this world talk about "restoring faith in the democratic process." How? By cutting the First Amendment off at the knee.

There is no more fundamental component to guaranteeing that a free people stay free than vigorous and open debate. Whatever the cover story, "reformers" fear an open-ended exchange of views, especially an exchange that brings to light where they stand on issues.

Gov. Wise and his ilk fear that if women are given even the most basic, scientifically accurate, emotion-free information about abortion and alternatives, they will (gasp!) Choose Life.

In the real world, the one that is divorced from pro-abortion ideology, pregnant women are not autonomous decision makers whose choices are unaffected by the fathers of their children. What comes through loud and clear in Tom Strahan's article is that women in crisis pregnancy situations often are decisively influenced by the demeanor of those whose behavior they are examining for cues.

Above all else, in so many instances, she fears abandonment. If the father signals his own fear, indifference, or laissez faire attitude--let alone hostility--it takes enormous courage on her part to carry her baby to term.

And as Fr. Pavone points out on page 13, there is an entire category of people rarely discussed in all the debates about abortion: abortion survivors. This runs the gamut from those who literally survive an abortion to all those indirectly affected, especially siblings.

Fear takes on a different coloration when it comes to what many clergymen do (or fail to do), as Pastor Sheldon explains. Granted, some pastors will remain silent simply because they fear rocking the boat or losing their position. But more often their reluctance to talk about abortion is out of a misguided but sincere fear that they will hurt women in the congregation who've had abortions.

Clergy must be taught that the worst thing they can do is to opt out of their responsibility to their flocks. Women--and men--need to be told simultaneously that abortion is so very wrong but also that God's forgiveness is infinite. As Ernest Ohlhoff, NRLC's director of religious outreach, wrote in last month's edition, many women remain angry at their pastor years after their abortion. Not for speaking up about abortion, mind you, but for saying nothing.

What a different kind of fear gripped Leslie Bond Diggins. Hers was a common fear: speaking in public. I suspect at a deeper level, however, she also worried that somehow she would not do justice to the great cause she would be called to defend.

What was not common--except to pro-lifers--was her response. Neither her fears nor the responsibilities that go along with being the mother of several young children nor the weightiness of the issue would stop her.

She creatively found a way to "open the discussion," at which point her enormous native intelligence and huge knowledge base began to shine through. Most important of all, Leslie [re-] learned the fundamental truth about being a pro-lifer:

And then I have a shock of recognition: it suddenly dawns on me that this is what it's all about. It's not about putting together a perfect speech, or choosing just the right word, or being able to get up in front of people without your hands shaking with nervousness.

No, it's rather about caring enough about those tiny beating hearts - - and those bigger, almost grown hearts beating inside the listeners - - to put nervousness and self-consciousness and ego aside and simply speak out.

Pro-abortionists fear exposure to the truth. Women in crisis pregnancies fear abandonment. Those indirectly affected by abortion fear that the wrath that inspired the abortion might be turned on them. Preachers fear hurting the already-damaged psyches of post-abortive women.

But when a pro-lifer fears she will not be the kind of champion of the little ones that she would want to be, Leslie offers her a great assurance. It's not about us.

It is not you or I who changes hearts. That it why we don't need to be perfect messengers, just willing messengers.

It's the message--in all its awesome, powerful simplicity--that wins over the reluctant, not whatever eloquence we may possess. Am I saying, don't be prepared? Of course not!

But what I am saying is that when we do carry the day for the Littlest Americans, it will be because we placed our trust in the One who never fails. And that is because when we speak from an informed heart, inspired and moved by a Spirit of love, our eloquence will be more than we would have thought we were capable of.

There is nothing to fear.

dave andrusko can be reached at dha1245@juno.com