An Open Letter to “Pro-choice” Candidates
October 27, 2008
Dear brothers and sisters,
In these days you are seeking the votes of your fellow Americans for public
office. At the same time, you take the position that abortion, however
regrettable it may be, should remain legal.
I write to express the convictions of tens of millions of citizens. Your position
is a blatant contradiction to the very meaning of public service, the first
requirement of which is to be able to tell the difference between serving the
public and killing the public!
We ask, first of all, Have you ever seen an abortion? So many who defend
abortion’s legality cannot even bring themselves to look at the horrifying
pictures of children torn apart by the procedure (www.unborn.info).
But if we cannot look at it, why should we tolerate it?
We likewise ask, Are you willing to publicly describe what you think should be
legal? Abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell, in sworn testimony, described the “D
and E” abortion procedure, still legal throughout our nation, by saying,
“Typically the skull is brought out in fragments rather than as a unified
piece…" (Madison, WI, May 27, 1999, Case No. 98-C-0305-S). In the same case,
abortionist Dr. Hylan Raymond Giles, when asked, “Can the heart of a fetus or
embryo still be beating during a suction curettage abortion as the fetus or
embryo comes down the cannula?” answered, “For a few seconds to a minute,
yes.”
When you say the word “abortion,” is this what you mean? When you say it should
be legal, are you willing to quote those who explain what it is?
Your position is undermining the fabric of our nation. We repeat to you again the
question posed by Mother Teresa in her speech at the National Prayer Breakfast
in Washington DC on February 3, 1994. “And if we accept that a mother can
kill even her own child, how can we tell other people not to kill one another?"
We have not yet heard a “pro-choice” candidate answer any of these questions.
That’s why people cannot vote for you, and you shouldn’t be asking for their
vote. If you can’t respect and protect the life of a little baby, how are you
supposed to respect and protect our lives, or any other right we possess?
When you ask citizens for their vote, you are actually asking them to share in
your failure to protect these children. You’re asking them to share in the
deception by which you justify that failure. You’re asking them, too, to
contradict the meaning of public service. They are not morally permitted to say
yes to what you are asking.
We in the pro-life movement do not need any reminders about the plight of young
mothers. We serve them every day, providing real alternatives to abortion.
Nor do we accept the accusation that we are narrowly focused on a “single issue.”
We are not ashamed of the fact that we recognize a holocaust when we see one,
and that we understand the foundation, heart, and core of our concern for all
the other issues – life itself.
We’re not a vote for you to court or an interest group for you to appease.
Rather, our movement represents the heart and core of every movement for
justice. That is why, whether you end up elected to public office or not, we
will be there – in the halls of government, in the media, and on the streets of
every city, town, and countryside across America – pressing the cause of justice
for a group of human beings whose rights you have forgotten.
We will neither cease to remind you, nor will we wait for you to remember. Our
cause is as great as America itself, and it will prevail. May you have the
wisdom to join us.
Sincerely,
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
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