Presidential Message: Keeping our LIFE vision

When Martin Luther King Jr. accepted his Nobel Peace Prize in December 1964, he courageously reminded the audience of his vision of overcoming discrimination when he said, “I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. This is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant.”

The fight for racial equality has advanced in great strides over the years with new laws and a commitment to changing hearts and minds using the power of truth cloaked in love.

Now 28 years after the legalization of abortion on demand, those of us fighting against the legal destruction of unborn children need to be reminded of a similar vision. We need to remember the past while at the same time, arm ourselves with the truth and with the desire to change hearts and minds through unconditional love.

As a new January nears and we remember the landmark U.S. Supreme Court cases, Roe vs. Wade and Doe vs. Bolton, which made abortion on demand the law of the land, let us mourn the loss of lives and be re-inspired by our bold vision and uncompromising commitment to the unborn and the welfare of women.

We know the truth. Abortion kills an innocent life, degrades and victimizes women and is slowly destroying our culture and turning it into one which values convenience and choice over life.

But how should we be sharing this truth with unconditional love? We begin by reaching out to hurting women facing frightening, unplanned pregnancies. It means connecting with women where they are and gently guiding them to more positive alternatives. It means reaching out and accepting post abortive women who are in need of love, support and counseling. It means refraining from speech and action which includes anger, hate or revenge. And, although sometimes difficult, it means respecting those people in our lives and in our communities who disagree or have yet to discover the awful truth about abortion and the wonderful freedom of a society that upholds the sanctity of human life.

Over the past 28 years, “right” may have at times been defeated, but only temporarily so. A message based on truth and right can only succeed in the end. But it takes time, and it takes hard work. We must not give up; we must continue with dignity and honor.

One great way to begin the new year with a heightened sense of our mission is by rallying with other prolife individuals in January. We can do things to remember the anniversary and to celebrate a renewed vision: write a letter to the editor, attend the March For Life in Washington, D.C., organize a sanctity of human life Sunday at your church, attend a local memorial service or volunteer at a local crisis pregnancy center. Visit our web site at www.rtl.org for a list of organized events in local areas across the state.

Nine years before Mr. King’s Nobel Peace prize speech, King wrote, “If you will protest courageously, and yet with dignity and Christian love, when the history books are written in future generations, the historians will have to pause and say, “There lived a great people­a black people­who injected new meaning and dignity into the veins of civilization.”
Future historians will someday look at the face of the prolife movement and find a people of deep faith, inspirational courage, and selfless love.

Let us strive to live up to King’s vision, working to transform our nation and our culture with dignity and love into a nation which guarantees the civil rights of all, including the right to be born.

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