Physician-assisted suicide, discrimination against children with Down syndrome, adoption, born-alive infant protection and abortion together form a cluster of policy debates called “life issues.” Pundits consider these as the “third rail” of politics, to be avoided whenever possible.
In recent years, however, that has changed. Extremists on the left shout out support for abortion up through the moment of birth. Yet, even in the face of this vocal challenge, party leaders on both sides of the aisle work to silence the pro-life side.
Last week, however, this pattern was broken when cancer survivor, Natalie Harp, told her story. She exposed how the regime of physician assisted suicide poisons the medical profession.
“I was told I was a burden to my family and to my country, and that by choosing to die early, I’d actually be saving the lives of others by preserving resources for them, rather than wasting them on a lost cause like myself,” Harp recalled. This was the first time ever that a major party convention condemned physician- assisted suicide.
The following night, Abby Johnson, came to the podium. She spoke of the day when, as director of a Texas Planned Parenthood clinic, she first witnessed the procedure that earned her salary. “Nothing prepared me for what I saw on the screen, an unborn baby fighting back, desperate to move away from the suction,” she recalled. “And I’ll never forget what the doctor said next, ‘Beam me up Scotty.’ The last thing I saw was a spine twirling around in the mother’s womb before succumbing to the force of the suction.”
Words such as these had never before been spoken at a convention of either party. They broke through all the abstract euphemisms meant to hide the reality of abortion. “You see, for me, abortion is real. I know what it sounds like. I know what abortion smells like. Did you know abortion even had a smell?”
That final sentence resounded like a rifle shot. She was followed immediately by Nick Sandmann, the teenager who found himself in the crosshairs of the world’s most powerful media outlets. After participating in Washington’s March for Life, he was accosted by a professional agitator, targeted for his red MAGA hat.
This incident was then flipped on its head by irresponsible pundits. “The full war machine of the mainstream media revved up into attack mode,” he said. “They did so without researching the full video of the incident, without ever investigating Mr. Phillips’ motives, or without ever asking me for my side of the story. And do you know why? Because the truth was not important.”
So far, the lies of CNN and the Washington Post have forced them into settlements reportedly over $100 million. Other outlets are still in court. Taken together, the stories of Johnson and Sandmann spotlighted the silence and distortions that hide the truth about abortion and those who stand for life.
Later that night, Albuquerque police officer, Ryan Holets, told his story. It began with an encounter with two heroine users and ended with the protection of an unborn child, the rescue of a young woman from addiction and a loving adoption.
The following evening, Tera Lee Myers spoke of genetic discrimination. “Before Samuel was even born,” she related, “I was told his life wouldn’t be worth living. When early tests revealed he had Down syndrome, our doctor encouraged me to terminate the pregnancy.” Sadly, such blatant discrimination is not uncommon.
In America, approximately two-thirds of children with Down syndrome are terminated. Such discrimination also continued after birth when school officials did not want to waste resources in teaching Samuel properly. Her fight against Downs discrimination spotlighted the humanity of countless people.
Sister Deirdre Byrne, a medical doctor, spoke of how refugees are universally “marginalized, viewed as insignificant, powerless and voiceless.” Then she brought it home, saying, “While we tend to think of the marginalized as living beyond our borders, the truth is the largest marginalized group in the world can be found here in the United States. They are the unborn.”
Even the keynote speech of the entire convention was unabashedly pro-life. The presidential candidate condemned any party that “supports the extreme late-term abortion of defenseless babies, right up until the moment of birth.” He called out those that “talk about moral decency, but they have no problem with stopping a baby’s beating heart in the ninth month of pregnancy.” He spoke of the hypocrisy of those who “refuse to protect innocent life, and then…lecture us about morality and saving America’s soul.”
Every pro-life American should rejoice that the bi-partisan silence on life issues has been forever broken. The God-given right to life, that extends to all people, has been sounded on the national stage.
Also published in the Wyoming Tribune Eagle, September 4, 2020.
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