TRUE PRO-LIFERS OPPOSE VIOLENCE
By Melissa Tulin
melmark@prodigy.net
Rightgrrl Contributor
March 19, 1999
Like most pro-lifers, I was dismayed by the recent attempted bombing of the Femcare clinic in Asheville, North Carolina. While the potential for damage and even loss of life was great, fortunately, the bomb detonated early and no one was injured.
While it was not certain who planted this bomb, or if pro-lifers were even involved at all, abortion advocates such as Bill Clinton once again used this incident to attack and vilify the entire pro-life movement. It's unfortunate that Clinton, the pro-choice movement, and their media allies -- who don't even try to hide their bias anymore -- insist on stereotyping all pro-lifers as violent extremists. This is not only unfair, but also inaccurate. Even Janet Reno's Justice Department pit bulls, which have attempted for several years to find a "conspiracy" in the pro-life movement, have had to admit that these acts of violence have all been committed by deranged individuals acting alone, or by members of small, shadowy groups such as the so-called "Army of God" that have no association with any legitimate pro-life organization. Says Brian Johnston, Executive Director of the California Pro-Life Council, "Just as the Unabomber is not representative of environmentalists, the perpetrators of these acts in no way represent the sentiments of pro-life citizens or the purposes of the pro-life movement."
I have been involved in pro-life activism for more than a decade, and have met many kind, caring people through the movement, including my 10-year-old daughter's godparents. The pro-life people that I know are involved in their communities, work with the disabled, become adoptive and foster parents to "unwanted" children, and help women facing crisis pregnancies. In fact, one of the best-kept secrets of the pro-life movement is the vast network of agencies that help women facing unplanned pregnancies. There are almost five thousand organizations in the United States alone that provide counseling, medical and financial assistance, and even housing to these women, yet we rarely hear of these agencies on the news, and when we do, they're almost always portrayed in a negative light. Writes Juliette Bartlett Pack, President of Texas Black Americans For Life, Inc., "Being pro-life means promoting life from conception to the end of our natural time here. It's keeping our families together. Pro-life is helping whether the need is social (i.e., jobs), educational, or emotional (i.e., post abortion stress). Pro-life is multifaceted."
Our nation will ultimately be judged by the way that it treats its most powerless and vulnerable members. As the new millenium approaches, we must approach the painful and divisive issue not with rhetoric or violence, but compassion and love for both the woman facing an unplanned pregnacy and her unborn child.
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This article copyright © 1999 by By Melissa Tulin and may not be reproduced in any form without the express written consent of its author. All rights reserved.