Roe v. Wade Memorial Rally

It was 36 years ago this coming Thursday, January 22, 1973, that the Supreme Court of this land in its Roe v Wade decision legitimized abortion on demand in this our own native land. Since then 50 million babies have been lost to abortion. Unfortunately, the Roe v Wade decision created an abortion mentality in the minds and hearts of too many of our fellow citizens, one that changed moral persuasion about a very serious evil.

As many of you know, I am the pastor of the Catholic people here in western Oregon. We Catholics are pro-life because our Christian tradition is pro-life. Our mission to defend human life applies over the entire course of life, from conception to natural death. Because our voice is a prophetic one, we continue to speak out to protest the injustices and indignities, like abortion, against the human person. We are not trying to win a popularity contest or an election. We are trying to do what is right and just.

But please remember that when we talk about abortion we are not discussing simply a religious matter. This is an ethical concern. Stealing, lying and doing harm to others are also wrong, not simply because they are violations of anyone’s faith, but because they contradict human reason.

The fact that human life begins at conception is a scientific conclusion, not simply a religious one. The moral norm which prompts our constant opposition to abortion is the fact that each and every human life has inherent dignity, and thus must be treated with the respect due to a human person. The claim that some human lives do not deserve respect or should not be treated as “persons” is to deny the very idea of inherent human rights.

We all know that pro-abortion groups took considerable comfort in the results of our recent national election. They have already sent a comprehensive 55-page booklet of their agenda to the incoming administration. But this agenda – which includes publicly-funded abortions, passage of the so-called “Freedom of Choice Act” (FOCA), plus attacking the Hyde Amendment and other long-standing pro-life provisions in appropriate bills, simply will not sell in the general public. Some of these politicians talk about working to reduce abortions but we all know that you cannot reduce abortions by promoting abortion and eliminating all the policies that have proven effective in reducing abortions.

My friends, as discouraging as some of these initiatives may seem to us, let’s not forget the successes we have already achieved in changing hearts and minds all over this land. A nationwide survey which was commissioned by the Catholic bishops in the United States last month found that fewer than one in ten Americans support legal abortion for any reason at any time during pregnancy, yet that is precisely the current state of abortion law resulting from the United States Supreme Court 1973 decisions that made abortion legal throughout the nine months of pregnancy.

In other words, pro-abortion groups are basically out of touch with main stream America. Because abortion advocates think that this is their moment for expanding the so-called “right to abortion,” it is more important than ever that we let our minds be known to all our legislators concerning our opposition to measures like the “Freedom of Choice Act.” This act poses a very serious threat to human life. It would eliminate regulations that protect women from unsafe abortion clinics, force taxpayers to fund abortions, require all states to allow so-called partial-birth and other late-term abortions, subject women to abortions by non-physicians, violate the conscience rights of nurses, doctors and hospitals and strip parents of their right to be involved in their minor daughters’ abortion decision.

My friends, the loss of 50 million babies over these past 36 years is tragedy enough. If passed into law, FOCA would surely raise the current level of 1.1 million abortions a year higher rather than lower.

Many social issues are important nowadays. They require our attention. But some issues have more weight than others. Deliberately killing innocent human life, or standing by and allowing it, dwarfs all other social issues.

Yes, my friends, as this 36th anniversary of Roe v Wade approaches, we find that our voice is needed more now than ever. We must publicly express our rejection of the abortion extremism of legislation like FOCA. We must work tirelessly to overturn an evil and unjust law which effectively denies the humanity of unborn children and allows them to be torn from limb to limb. God bless us all. God bless America.