Submitted to the Star Banner, November 10th, 2001
Editor,
Despite all the variety of terrorists threats requiring our attention, the U.S. bishops furtively keep probing and trying many ways to outlaw abortions.
The bishops maintain they have the resources, the personnel, and the persistence to have their way with the laws in this country. They claim that legal abortions in the U.S.A. threatens the very survival of the Roman Catholic Church. When John Salvi murdered women and and wounded staff members in Planned Parenthood clinics, he said he did it "to save the Church." Through the members of Congress who introduce and support the bishops' legislation, they continue to assault our laws on abortion.
Now, the Army of God, who also oppose legal abortions, have sent threats to more than 200 Planned Parenthood clinics as follows: "This contains anthrax. You're going to die." According to Vicki Saporta, National Abortion Federation's executive director, "The Army of God members have said they wouldn't hesitate to use anthrax if they had it." Attorney General Ashcroft should investigate and resolve this matter as soon as practical. .
In this dangerous situation where neither the bishops' supporters nor members of the Army of God need to be incited into illegal actions, the bishops are funding a media blitz which asks abortion supporters in the Philadelphia and southern New Jersey area to answer the question, "Have we gone too far?" If successful, the ads could be used nationwide to help the anti-abortion movement gain ground in the court of public opinion.
"What's new about this is we are presenting a couple of facts in a non-emotional and intelligent way," Cathleen Cleaver, secretariat for anti-abortion activities, told Newhouse News Service. "We're not trying to provoke an emotional response but an intellectual response." That approach is new for the bishops as their stock in trade has been inciting the emotions of their followers and members of like-minded organizations.. So, for persons favoring legal abortions, the bishops believe an intellectual approach may get them to change their minds on legal abortions.
Asked why the bishop's conference was not named as the sponsor in the ads, Cleaver said the aim was simplicity and that additional content would clutter the ads.
Persons subject to these ads need to question the "couple of facts" presented in the ads.
For example, in one ad, with piano music playing in the background, a woman is saying, "In America you can choose to have an abortion at any time, for any reason. Because of that, one out of every four pregnancies now ends in abortion." Not so. Abortions are serious medical procedures not subject to the whims implied in this statement. Further, the bishops have absolutely no knowledge of how many pregnancies occur in the U.S.. To say one out of every four pregnancies now ends in abortions opens the bishops to valid charges of false advertising.
Following are several facts the bishops chose to overlook in their ads as they do not want to clutter up the ads:
-most pregnancies are unplanned;
-bishops consider pregnancies to be gifts from God but fail to explain why God ends so many pregnancies by spontaneous abortions, also known as miscarriages;
-an unknown number of pregnancies ended by early term abortions would have been ended by miscarriages;
-certain abortions are legal in every civilized nation;.
-the U.S. Supreme Court has declared abortions for women are legal in the U.S.A.
The bishops also do not want to clutter up the ads by explaining some abortions are approved by their canon laws, notably when the purpose of the abortion is secondary to saving the life of the mother. It's much easier for bishops to call for an end to all legal abortions than it is to clutter up their ads by explaining that some abortions are approved by their canon law.
In case of an ectopic pregnancy, whereby the fertilized egg is implanted in the Fallopian tube and threatens the life of the mother, an abortion is approved. In instances where the woman's life is threatened by illness, such as uterine cancer, an abortion is approved. In instances where certain medications needed to save the life of the mother could be lethal for the fetus, such as prolonged radiation and massive steroids, abortion is approved.
I trust that persons who favor keeping abortions legal in the U.S.A. will not be swayed by this furtive anti-abortion campaign. If anything, it may well be that this campaign will alert them to the need to be ever vigilant and protective of women's freedom in the U.S.A.. I hope it does not help incite the bishops' followers and/or members of the Army of God to perform illegal deeds.
Contrary to the bishops' claims, the fact that abortions are legal in the U.S.A. and every civilized
nation in the world does not threaten the survival of the billion member Roman Catholic church.
James M. O'Hara