| Cal Thomas
Mother Teresa was right about killing
MOTHER TERESA USED TO WARN anyone who would listen that the
abortion culture cheapens human life and finds expression in violent
streets, terrorism of all sorts and a debasing of the uniqueness of
human beings.
She might have argued, were she still with us, that the murder of
Dr. Barnett Slepian, who performed abortions in Amherst, N.Y., proves
her point. While his killing by a sniper is indefensible and the
antithesis of what it means to be pro-life, it also demonstrates where
our 25-year inattention to protecting the endowed and unalienable
right to life has brought us.
In the same New York Times (Oct. 26) that featured a front-page
story on how much infertile couples will pay to adopt babies (the
average is between $15,000 and $20,000) and the extremes to which some
will go in that pursuit because unrestricted abortion has diminished
the number of available infants, a Times editorial called the shooting
of Dr. Slepian "depraved.''
It euphemistically described abortion as a "constitutionally
protected service'' and referred to pro-lifers as "anti-choice
fanatics.'' When some people use incendiary words in reference to
abortion, The Times says such language can lead to violent acts. (That
is the position taken by the newspaper concerning anti-homosexual
rhetoric.) Yet the paper sees nothing wrong with hauling out the
verbal artillery when it addresses behavior it finds repugnant.
Three abortionists have been murdered in the past five years, as
have three clinic employees and a clinic "escort.'' But in the same
period, more than 6 million babies have been denied their right to
live. In the 25 years since the Roe vs. Wade ruling a staggering 30
million babies have died. No Times editorialist weeps for them or for
what they might have become.
Abortion is an industry that makes millions of dollars by
exploiting women. As abortion is tolerated, pressure builds to remove
protections on human life at other stages. That abortion is still
conducted in secret, shielding us from confronting this immoral act,
does not diminish its significance. The industry is able to keep us
from having a full-scale debate because it has elevated ``choice'' to
a sacrament, even while denying women access to the latest technology
and information (like adoption) that frequently results in many
choosing life for their unborn.
The New York Times would have us believe that "extreme'' pro-lifers
are to blame for the shooting of Dr. Slepian. In fact, it has been The
Times and other defenders of any and all abortions that have
contributed to the cheapening of life and the belief by some fanatics
that they can play God, dispensing vigilante vengeance and "justice.''
Advocates of choice speak of the "legality'' of abortion as if this
is supposed to end all discussion, debate or even nonviolent civil
disobedience (called "harassment'' by those who defended similar
tactics to advance their past and present agendas). But law detached
from a moral code is an insufficient standard by which to order a
society. Were it sufficient, then certain practices in our past (such
as slavery, which is again receiving attention in the movie
"Beloved'') could be defended on the basis of their one-time legality.
Some pro-life pregnancy centers are adopting a positive new
strategy to save the lives of babies and the souls of women even in
the midst of an abortion-minded culture. Many of these centers are
being transformed into medical clinics where sonograms allow pregnant
women to see inside their bodies and gaze at another body. (I have met
women for whom this was the defining moment in their choice.) They
also learn about other options, including adoption, and the many forms
of emotional and material support available which the "salespeople''
at abortion clinics never reveal because it might hurt business.
While the murder of Dr. Slepian must be deplored, his family gets
sympathy because they can be seen. But the unborn are part of the same
human family and deserve better than being reclassified into something
they are not so that "abortion snipers'' can pick them off one at a
time, while exercising their supposed "constitutional
right.''
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