A Day of Mourning

On this anniversary of the Supreme Court's Roe vs. Wade decision, read the late Richard John Neuhaus' speech on the pro-life movement. It's been republished over at First Things. The great Father Neuhaus was one of the most eloquent defenders of the unborn in recent memory.

How tragic it is to think of the nameless, faceless generations that would now walk this Earth had abortion remained an illegal practice. This is the greatest of our national sins: that we allowed nine robed dictators to infer a non-existent "right to privacy" from our Constitution that allows a doctor to kill an unborn child on behalf of its mother. I've never been able to fathom the philosophical connection between a right to "privacy" and a right to do whatever one wishes, right up to killing another human being.

Our cowardly politicians continue to hide behind empty rhetoric in order to avoid the consequences of admitting abortion is wrong. "We can't impose our views on others!" "Women can do whatever they want with their bodies!" Such statements, taken as Gospel by the gullible masses, are so at odds with common sense moral principles. If we can "impose" our opposition to littering, tax-evasion, and assault and battery on those whom we penalize for such offenses, why should abortion be any different? Does taking another human's life really count as a mere exercise of control over one's body?

These are the questions that the left does not want you to ask. The answers are obvious, but the implications of the truth would destroy the liberal utopian ideal. Therefore, abortion advocates hate anyone who expresses qualms about unfettered abortion access. Question their permissive, anti-human ideology and they call you a misogynist, a neanderthal, perhaps even a racist for good measure (because Lord knows, if you disagree with anything that the Democratic Party does, you MUST hate minorities). What they will not do, in my experience, is respond in a logical, sensible, or scientifically sound way.

Be thankful that maybe, just maybe, the common folk are waking up and realizing all of this. A majority of Americans are pro-life, according to Gallup. Maybe one day, when the Democratic Party and the pro-choice press have spent their credibility, the majority feeling will translate into action.