Yes, Really: Still Pro-Life

In the wake of a terrible murder committed by a madman, let me take a moment to explain what Pro-Life means. In it's most simplest form, it means you, the reader, are important. You don't need to do anything to earn that importance. It is inherent. This dignity does not come from the government under which you live. It is a part of you from the moment you became one of us. It's encoded, like your DNA.

To God, you are no more important than my son, no less important than the President. I don't have to love, like, admire, or even stand you for you to maintain your human status.

Let me give you a hypothetical to demonstrate:

• I am driving down a narrow road and my brakes give out. You and my much loved dog are in the road. If I drive a straight line, I will kill both you and the dog. If I veer left I'll hit the dog. If I veer right I'll hit you. I have to choose. Verdict: You live.



• Let me explain my Pro-Life position a bit further. I love my dog. I don't even know you. Even as a stranger, you are more important to me than my dog. Again: You live.



• Let's muddy the waters. You are an evil person and I know it somehow. Do I sacrifice my dog to save you still? Even still: You live.

I will say that it would be harder in that last hypothetical to choose to do the right thing. My emotions will war with my reason, but my emotions are not the deciding factor. Let me explain that statement with a real life situation: I do not support the Death Penalty. Even a heinous murderer has a right to live and a right to the chance of repentance. Only God knows the state of another's soul. My emotions viscerally disagree. They want a different justice, immediate and human. I will rephrase my stance to be more clear: I will not support the Death Penalty. It is a willful and conscious choice.

A human being has value to God and to other human beings. Even when they do not live up to our expectations or our needs or even our laws. Sadly history and our present is full of examples of persons being dehumanized in order to subdue, enslave, or rid ourselves of the burden of each other.

So why did that man kill that doctor? My best guess would be that he forgot a few things: that Pro-Life means more than Anti-Abortion, that "Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord," and that Dr. Tiller was human and one of us.

So, even if the man who committed the murder believed that the man he killed was a heinous human being, it doesn't really matter. It is a condemnable act. I condemn the act. So does every Pro-Life person I've discussed this with. So does every legitimate Pro-Life organization out there. You will not see this murderer lauded as a hero to the cause or the incident glossed over. It is denounced. Officially and completely.

May God rest Dr. Tiller's soul and be with his family in their time of grief.

Some notes:

It has been 10 years since the last lunatic bombed an abortion clinic or murdered an abortionist. According to Wikipedia , since the Roe v. Wade decision in 1973, nine people have been murdered by those calling themselves "Pro-Life" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-abortion_violence. Those injured and killed by Pro-Choice extremists do not have a corresponding Wikipedia page. Here is a link to those statistics http://abortionviolence.com/.