Truth of abortion tragic

Of My Worldview

About 100,000 champions of life gathered in Washington, D.C., to remember the 32nd anniversary of the fateful Roe v. Wade decision which opened the door to 45 million abortions since 1973. A placard seen there insightfully read, "Our sin was paid for with the blood of Christ; our freedom with the blood of patriots; our silence with the blood of the unborn."

It seems to me that kind and well-intended people can easily fail to recognize the real horror of abortion on demand. Logical arguments don’t seem to penetrate many rational minds on this issue. Logically, only the insane and the most ruthless murderers think it a good thing to kill the innocent. Americans pride themselves on their high standards of human rights, applying these principles everywhere except in abortion clinics. We prosecute men like Scott Peterson, finding him guilty on two counts of murder, but we legally sanction millions of others each year to kill the unborn.

One person who attended the march in Washigton, D.C., commented, "If the media showed the horrors of abortion like they show the horrors of war, the ugly reality would cause Americans to rise up in anger and demand an immediate end to this tragic chapter in our history." This is the truth. It astounds me that the media refused to bring the real life images of abortion to the public. Nothing seems to be so protected in the media.

If my readers want to see the reality of abortion, visit www.priestsforlife.org and follow the link that reads, "America will not reject abortion until America sees abortion." Prepare yourself for images documenting the reality of abortion at various stages in fetal development. How can this practice be protected by law?

Any who know me know that I really do care about the women, who also are victims in this situation. Large numbers of them are abandoned by irresponsible lovers when they become pregnant. My concern for the women doesn’t mean that I can support a policy that lets them put their babies to death. Women facing a crisis pregnancy should be supported, so that they can give life and not feel that the only choice they have is to kill in order to escape a bad situation. Adoption is always a better option than putting the innocent to death. Locally, the Harrisonburg Pregnancy Center provides support and encouragement free of charge to women who seek their counsel.

During the event, President Bush reaffirmed his commitment to build "a culture that will protect the most innocent among us" and to "promote compassion for women and their unborn babies." He vowed to achieve "the America of our dreams, where every child is welcomed in life and protected in law," while acknowledging that "a true culture of life cannot be sustained solely by changing laws." The president suggested that what we need most of all is to change hearts by persuading our fellow citizens of the rightness of our cause.

Several of the signs displayed are worth mentioning. One borrowed a line from Dr. Seuss, "A person is a person, no matter how small." Several women displayed signs that read, "I regret my abortion." One said, "Abortion is the number one killer in America." Anti-abortion marchers ended their walk at the Supreme Court with a quiet appeal to reverse Roe v. Wade and to restore the inalienable right of every American to "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

Jon Anderson is a AHRD graduate student