President's Message: Spread the Message of the Dignity of Human Life

Letters to the editor are powerful educational tools for advocates of any issue. The letters to the editor section of any newspaper is rated as one of the most highly read parts of the paper. My daily visit to these pages is a quick glance at the headlines (provided by the paper’s editors) of the letters searching for those that deal with our life issues.

Recently a letter to the editor with the headline “Life threatened” contained the following words which create a powerful visual: I feel the “Dignity of Human Life” candle is burning from both ends, abortion and euthanasia. I fear it will continue to burn until it reaches the middle, unless American lawmakers, inspired by the American population, extinguish the flames.

The author of this letter to the editor may have been referring to the many events that we witness daily pointing to a disregard for the value of each and every human life whether at the very beginning or at the last days.

There is the tragedy of Terri Schindler-Schiavo. We all witnessed the agony of her parents and siblings as they fought to keep Terri alive. We prayed for an outcome that honored life. Terri finally died because she was denied the basics: food and water. Now a Florida judicial organization has awarded Judge George Greer, the decision-maker in that case, a “Special Justice Award.” The candle continues to burn.

There is the tragedy of abortion, a tragedy that kills an unborn baby and maims the mother. An April article in the southeast Michigan “Observer & Eccentric” newspaper related in detail what one woman went through in March. She was 23 weeks pregnant. On March 1st the abortionist started a two-day abortion procedure, two days because of the advanced size of the baby. The newspaper article continues with a description of what happened on the second day at the abortionist’s office:

“After he (the abortionist) left, the patient started to have painful contractions and bleed profusely. She asked clinic employees–neither of whom are licensed health professionals–to call an ambulance or her mother who was in the waiting room. Despite several pleas, the employees refused because they said the doctor would return shortly.

The patient’s screams were so loud after nearly three hours, her mother heard them and she ran into the recovery room. The mother delivered the stillborn baby on her own after the clinic assistants refused to help again. The mother called for an ambulance on her own cell phone.”
And the candle continues to burn.

Winston Churchill once wrote about our “awe-inspiring accountability to the future.” Aren’t we all accountable as we witness the “Dignity of Human Life” candle burning at both ends?

The candle is a powerful image. An image that portrays ashes and destruction. But it is also a symbol of hope and light. I used to receive mailings from The Christophers, and their motto was “It is better to light a candle than to curse the darkness.” Let’s use our time and talents to reach out to our public officials and our fellow citizens to spread the message of the Dignity of Human Life.

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