Ten Reasons Why the Pro-life Movement is Winning
by Fr. Frank Pavone, M.E.V.
We are closer to achieving our goal of winning the fight to end abortion and restoring protection to children in the womb than the mainstream media is reporting. To help you see the truth of that statement and to inspire you to renew your commitment to the fight, here are ten signs that point to the fact that the end of abortion in America will come sooner than you may think. Of this much I am certain, we will not have to wait for the next generation to plan and carry out victory celebrations. That will be our task.
This does not mean that you can relax or take anything for granted. Just the opposite, in fact. The closer we get to victory, the harder the other side will fight to keep abortion legal and the more hostile they will become. Still, we now know the key weaknesses of the abortion movement ... as well as the pro-life dynamics that the other side can do nothing to stop. So be of good cheer and stout heart! We have the devil of abortion on the ropes. And here are ten signs that point to our eventual victory.
Sign 1: The survivors
The surest sign of our ultimate victory is the strong and ever-growing involvement of young people in all aspects of the fight to end abortion. And if you ask them why they’ve joined our fight, they will tell you: “It could have been me!” In speaking up for the unborn, the youth of America are also speaking up for themselves. This is an awareness and motivation that abortion advocates can do nothing to stop. And as a result, our pro-life movement receives a new strength and motivation each day from these survivors.
Sign 2: The flow of conversions
Another reason for confidence is simply to look at the flow of conversions. In which direction does it go? It goes from pro-abortion to pro-life. There is, for example, an international organization of former abortion providers called the Society of Centurions. These men and women – to whom I have the privilege of ministering – once served as doctors, nurses, technicians, security guards, and other roles to operate abortion mills. Now they have repented of their killing and become pro-life. Some of them – like Dr. Bernard Nathanson and Norma McCorvey – have high-profile testimonies. But most of them try to get on with more normal lives in the privacy of their own communities.
Since when, however, have you heard of an organization of former pregnancy resource center directors who have repented of saving babies and are now pro-abortion? It just doesn’t happen. With the notable exception of politicians – individuals notorious for abandoning their principles in exchange for votes or praise from media elitists – the flow of conversions is in one direction ... and that is from death to life.
Sign 3: I regret my abortion
Another clear sign of progress is the wave of women and men across the world who are speaking out about how they regret having their child killed by abortion. The “Silent No More Awareness Campaign” – a joint project of Priests for Life and Anglicans for Life – provides these women and men an opportunity to share their testimonies in public gatherings, before the media, in pulpits, and in legislative hearings. As Jennifer O’Neill, the campaign’s National Celebrity Spokeswoman says, “Experience trumps theory.” These men and women are living testimony that abortion doesn’t work. Instead of “solving” a problem, abortion creates more problems of its own. Best of all, there is nothing abortion advocates can do to stop this tidal wave. In fact, it puts them in quite a dilemma. For decades now they have been saying, “Listen to the voices of women!” Now, if they practice what they preach, they hear those women’s voices repudiate the lie of abortion.
Sign 4: Few doctors ... fewer mills
Over half of America’s freestanding abortion clinics have closed since 1993 ... from over 2,000 at that time to roughly 740 today. That’s because, no matter how much money, political strength, and media access the abortion movement has built up, they have not succeeded in removing the indelible stigma that is attached to abortion. In fact, the abortion industry’s greatest fear is not that Roe v. Wade will be reversed. Rather, it is that abortion will remain legal but there won’t be any doctors to do it. About 86% of counties in America do not currently have an abortionist. Fewer and fewer doctors – even if they consider themselves pro-choice – want to perform the procedure. They consider abortionists to be the losers of the medical profession, and they are right. Abortionist Herbert Hodes summed it up in Glamour magazine in September of 1991 when he said: “That's how the anti's are going to win. They are going to win by attrition, because fewer and fewer doctors will perform abortions.”
Sign 5: Legal evidence mounts
In Constitutional history, the rights of groups that have been oppressed – such as African Americans, children, women, and workers – have eventually been vindicated. As Courts heard more evidence of the harm that was done to these groups, they reversed prior Court decisions. From slavery to workers’ rights to segregation to child labor laws, eventually the Courts get it right. Now it is time for the “embryonic moment” ... the recognition that the rights of the Constitution apply to the unborn child. In various cases, the evidence of the unborn child’s humanity, as well as of the harm abortion does to women, is being introduced in court. And even if a particular court decision is not favorable, the evidence that is introduced into the record becomes material that future cases can invoke. As the body of scientific evidence continues to mount, one day in the not too distant future the Courts will be forced to recognize the personhood of the unborn child and accord him with the rights and protections of our U.S. Constitution.
Sign 6: Abortion research
Another motive for confidence is the growing mountain of medical, psychological, and sociological evidence that abortion harms women, men, and families. Websites like www.AfterAbortion.org provide an excellent starting point for surveying this growing mountain of evidence. Most telling of all is the fact that even those researchers who identify themselves as pro-choice are coming to this conclusion ... and publishing their research despite the objections and criticism of the abortion industry. This growing body of evidence is one of the ways that abortion will eventually destroy itself. The more abortion continues, the more it reveals itself as an enemy of the human family.
Sign 7: No more arguments
Another sign of victory is that the other side has run out of arguments. In the years leading up to Roe vs. Wade, abortion advocates assured everyone that legalized abortion would reduce child abuse, strengthen family life, and improve society. But all the evidence shows that after three decades of legal abortion, all these problems have gotten worse. Moreover, all the arguments from medicine, science, psychology, sociology, law, ethics, and religion support the pro-life view. Finally, supporters used to call abortion a decision “between a woman and her doctor.” Now they say it’s a decision “between a woman and her God.” When abortion supporters run out of arguments, they appeal to God in order to end debate. We in the pro-life movement also appeal to God ... not as the substitute for other arguments, however, but rather as their foundation.
Sign 8: Even in politics…
We even see evidence of pro-life progress in the political arena. Voters for whom abortion matters in their decision vote in favor of pro-life candidates by a two to one margin. Even the 2006 election shows this. In a political climate that was hostile to many pro-life candidates, the data shows that it was so for reasons other than abortion. Some 36% of voters said that abortion affected their vote. Within that group, 23% voted pro-life and only 13% pro-abortion. Voters’ behavior on the abortion issue continues to be an advantage to our pro-life side as surveys show that the intensity of motivation for the pro-life side is stronger. Opinion polls also show that newer, younger voters are more pro-life and want to see abortion eliminated or more highly restricted.
Sign 9: Legislation galore
The last several years have seen unprecedented legislative progress on behalf of the unborn child. Look at the evidence. On the federal level, for the first time, an abortion procedure – so-called “partial birth abortion” – has been declared illegal. The “Born-Alive Infants Protection Act” protects the unborn from being killed after a failed abortion. The “Unborn Victims of Violence Act” protects the unborn from acts of violence other than abortion. And on the state level, laws are in place that have reduced the numbers of abortion. These include parental involvement laws, informed consent laws, and abortion clinic regulation laws. Our lawmakers are making progress!
Sign 10: Corruption uncovered
A key reason we are winning is that abortion destroys itself. The evil inner workings of abortion are being exposed for all to see ... and as more and more crimes become visible, the abortion movement loses supporters. These crimes include medical malpractice, sexual abuse, injury and death that routinely occur in so-called “safe and legal” abortion clinics, doctors not sterilizing instruments, “anesthesiologists” who have no training in anesthesia, “abortions” committed on women who were not pregnant, falsifying medical records, and much more. What’s more, the abortion industry creates a safe haven for sexual predators. Details are available at www.ChildPredator.com. Beyond the abuse of the patients, abortion clinics are rampant with violations of OSHA standards and other employment laws. A long list of details can be seen at www.ClinicWorker.com. What all this means is that the abortion industry is highly vulnerable to negative public opinion and to legal action having nothing to do directly with the legality of abortions. Clinics can be closed – and are closing – and abortionists being jailed for reasons having nothing to do with what people think about abortion ... but rather for reasons related to malpractice, abuse, and other illegal activity.
The fundamental reason why we’re winning above all else, the reason why we are winning the fight to end abortion is because we have already won! There is one among us who holds the keys of death and of hell. Jesus Christ is Risen from the dead! Although thought to be overwhelmed by the agents of death ... He trampled death by His death. As a result, death has been robbed of its power. “O death, where is thy sting?” Because of Christ’s Resurrection, death no longer has the final word in the human story. Our final destiny is heaven ... not the grave!
This means that the power of abortion – which takes more life than
anything else – has also been broken. Our pro-life movement does not simply work for victory ... we work from victory!
Victory is our starting point. We joyfully proclaim to the world that Christ is Risen, and that for this reason, we must choose life. We then work to apply that victory to every sector of society.
The labor is intense and the obstacles many. But we do not cower
before the culture of death and wonder how we will ever overcome it. Rather, we stand before it with victorious confidence and declare:
“Begone! You have no room here! No place here!
No further authority to menace the human family.
Your Kingdom has been conquered and Christ reigns supreme!”
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