Abortion's toll of 55 million called 'genocide'
'For the extremists in Planned
Parenthood, those aren't people'
WASHINGTON – Dennis Byrne blogs at Chicago Now, and wrote recently
about the state March for Life event, held in Chicago
on Sunday in preparation for the national march looming Wednesday in Washington.
“America
is missing at least 55 million people – that’s the estimated number of
abortions performed in the United States
since the historic Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton
decisions were handed down by the Supreme Court in 1973.
“Fifty-five million. That’s almost
20 percent of today’s population. Talk about genocide,” he wrote.
But that apparently doesn’t bother
many, explained Byrne, a contributing op-ed columnist for the Chicago Tribune.
“For the extremists in Planned
Parenthood, Illinois Personal PAC, ACLU and
other absolutist outfits that support the idea that an unborn child can be
killed for any reason (an idea made real by the combined Roe and Doe
decisions), those 55 million aren’t people. They’re not even mourned for the
loss of potential life.”
But he said it does matter: “I’ll
be accused – again – of being heartless, of not caring about a woman who is
forced to make a difficult choice. I’ll be told that if I don’t want an
abortion then I should not get one. As if there is no one else involved in this
matter of pure ‘Choice.’ Making the millions and millions of problems (not
persons, mind you) disappear, as if they were never people who ever existed?
“Now that’s heartless.”
Chicago’s event on Sunday was but one of many preliminaries to
Wednesday’s annual event in Washington,
which is, as in years before, expected to draw pro-life activists by the
hundreds of thousands.
Even with this year’s snowstorm
that hit much of the Eastern Seaboard on Tuesday, events mostly were
continuing, with adjustments where needed. Forecasts were predicting Washington could get up
to eight inches of snow, with frigid temperatures and winds making the outdoors
a challenge.
But exhibitor show spaces were
sold out. The youth rally was sold out. The law conference was sold out.
Just in case anybody wondered, the
website posted a notice, “The march will not be canceled due to inclement
weather. Please dress appropriately by wearing many layers, and covering
extremities!”
Minor adjustments were being made
as the snow fell across Washington,
with the 5K run/walk being delayed.
“We encourage you to visit your
congressman to advocate for life upon completing the march. Even if the
government is closed … marchers will still be able to visit the Congressional
Office Buildings.”
The march rally is scheduled noon
to 1 p.m. on the National Mall, with a variety of speakers, and the actual
march will follow immediately, following the route up Constitution Avenue to the Supreme Court Building on Capitol Hill.
The event marks the 41st
anniversary of the Supreme Court ruling that found in the U.S. Constitution the
right to abortion throughout a pregnancy. Millions of Americans have marched
over those four decades.
The Media Research
Center announced it will
produce a March For Life documentary, and it has agreed to review and possibly
use video from those attending the week’s pro-life activities.
The decision to make the
documentary came in response to what the organization called a “media blackout”
of coverage of the massive event.
A year ago, the major networks
spent only 17 seconds covering the more than half-a-million participants in the
40th Annual March for Life.
Despite the media blackout of the
biggest pro-life march in America
over the years, support for pro-life policies has been growing nationwide. A
2013 Gallup
poll found that more Americans now identify as pro-life than pro-choice, with
48 percent identifying as pro-life compared to only 45 percent identifying as
pro-choice.
Pro-life victories on a state
level have been even more notable. Last July, the Texas Senate passed a
controversial ban on abortions after 20 weeks. North Carolina passed a law requiring
abortion providers to show women seeking abortions an ultrasound. However, the
law was subsequently struck down.
Colorado has pending a legislative proposal that would make make
abortion illegal in the state.
The annual march also now is
surrounded by related events, with a panel discussion at Georgetown University
called “Publicly Pro-Life: Why Abortion Isn’t a Private Issue” and several
breakout sessions.
There’s also a prayer vigil at Planned Parenthood in Washington, that
Youth Rally with Eric Scheidler of the Pro-Life Action League and Dr. Alveda
King; Lila Rose of Live Action; Janet Morana, co-founder of the Silent No More
Awareness Campaign; Troy Newman of Operation Rescue; and others.
There also on Wednesday is the
Family Research Council hosting the ProlifeCon at its D.C. headquarters.
Internet activists are invited to attend to hear from experts and legislators
on new ways to use new media in the pro-life movement. More information is
available from the FRC Web pages. The event will also be webcast for those
unable to attend.
Confirmed speakers for ProLifeCon
include former Republican Sen. Rick Santorum; Rep. Vicky Hartzler, R-Mo.; Rep.
Andy Harris, R-Md.; the Duggar family, stars of TLC’s “19 Kids & Counting”;
Tony Perkins, president of Family Research Council; and blogger Jill Stanek.
On Wednesday at 2 p.m. the
Heritage Foundation will hold a screening of the documentary “40,” which
presents abortion as “the greatest human
rights issue of our time.” Space is limited. Information on the film is
available at The40Film.com.
On Thursday, the Heritage
Foundation will also hold the author event, “Abuse of Discretion: the Inside
Story of Roe v. Wade,” at 12 p.m.
For a full list of March for Life
related events taking place in and around D.C. this week, visit
MarchForLife.org.
Genocide
Joan
R. Platt was a director at the Genocide
Intervention Network, is a director at the Save Darfur Coalition, and a director at the Human Rights Watch.
Note: Genocide
Intervention Network is a merged organization with the Save Darfur Coalition.
Bradley D. Wine
was a director at the Genocide
Intervention Network, a member of the United
States Holocaust Memorial Council, and is a director at the Save Darfur Coalition.
Tom A. Bernstein
is the chairman for the United States
Holocaust Memorial Council, and a director at the Human Rights First.
Harold
H. Koh was a director at the Human
Rights First, the State Department legal adviser for the Barack Obama administration, and was Harry A. Blackmun’s clerk.
Harry A. Blackmun’s
clerk was Harold H. Koh, a justice for
the U.S. Supreme Court, and wrote majority
decision for Roe vs. Wade.
Harry Blackmun
Harold Andrew Blackmun (November
12, 1908 – March 4, 1999) was an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States
from 1970 until 1994. Appointed by the conservative President Nixon, Blackmun
ultimately became the most liberal justice on the Court. He is best known as
the author of the Court's opinion in Roe v. Wade.
George
Soros was a benefactor at the Human
Rights Watch, the chairman for the Foundation
to Promote Open Society, a contributor for MoveOn.org, and is the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.
Foundation
to Promote Open Society was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, Human
Rights First, and the American
Constitution Society, the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and Media
Matters.
Open
Society Foundations was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, Human
Rights First, the American Civil
Liberties Union (ACLU), the Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, and the
Barbra
Streisand Foundation was a funder for the Human Rights Watch, Planned
Parenthood Federation of America, and the American Constitution Society.
Caroline
Fredrickson is the president of the American
Constitution Society, was the Washington
legislative director for the American
Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), and the general counsel for the NARAL
Pro-Choice America.
Ilyse
Hogue is the president for the NARAL
Pro-Choice America, a senior adviser for Media Matters, and was a director of political advocacy for MoveOn.org.
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