An end to offenses against life

Today hundreds of thousands of people descended on Washington D.C. to proclaim that all life is precious. The annual March for Life, in observance of the 1973 Roe vs. Wade decision legalizing abortion, brings pro-life advocates from all over the U.S. to walk from the White House to the steps of the Capitol as a message to government and to the whole country that killing innocent babies in the womb is wrong and immoral.

Since the Roe vs. Wade decision on January 22, 1973, over 45 million unborn babies have been aborted. This morning President Bush spoke to the marchers via audio broadcast where he said, "It is important for all Americans to remember that our Declaration of Independence states that every person has a right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness." I thought one of his other comments was quite appropriate for our mission. He said:

"As we move forward, we've all got to remember that a true culture of life cannot be built by changing laws alone. We've all got to work hard to change hearts," Bush said. "The sanctity of life is written in the life of all men and women. And so I think, go forth with confidence that a cause rooted in human dignity and appealing to the best instincts of our citizens cannot fail" (Fox News).

Now, I know some may not like President Bush or his foreign policies, but one has to respect anyone who steps forward to defend the most precious and defenseless of all life - the unborn.

I found it interesting how the media covered the event today. As you all know, I am not fond of the media whatsoever, but the following titles and locations from the major media outlets will help you figue out which is the most pro-life. The media outlet (listed in no particular order), headlines and location of the story are as follows:

• CNN.com - "Bush voices support for abortion rights opponents" buried as the 3rd story of the Politics web page. Notice how those at the March for Life are OPPONENTS of abortion rights. Anyone perceived as opposing someone's "rights" is looked on as denying a person his or her liberty.
• USA Today - "Bush hails abortion foes at annual rally" is on the front page. Again, the use of a word, this time the the word "foes" conveys a sort of enemy mindset. Think of baseball...who cheers for the foes at the stadium?
• New York Times - "Bush hails abortion foes at annual rally," which is actually the Associated Press story that they printed directly. My guess would be that they did this because there are NO pro-life advocates on the NY Times staff, including the janitors.
• Fox News - "Bush Thanks Thousands of Anti-Abortion Supporters on Roe v. Wade Anniversary." This the ONLY story I found using the word "supporters" and "anti-abortion" in its title. Both properly express the focus of the March for Life: supporting an end to abortion. Lastly, it was the photoed cover story on their front page.
• MSNBC - "Bush gives abortion rights opponents pep talk" again using the words "abortion rights" to describe those gathered. This story was 9th on the politics page.

One other media outlet had an article on the march, although this isn't a suprise at all: Catholic News Service. What was cool was two sections of their article. The first said:

Among featured speakers was U.S. Sen. Sam Brownback, a Kansas Republican..."We need a culture of life that respects all life ... from conception to natural death," said Brownback, a Catholic. The unborn person is unique, is sacred, is beautiful" and he or she "deserves protection"

The second portion of the article featured both my archbishop and the archbishop of St. Louis. My archbishop had spoken to Sen. Brownback privately and stated that he "thanked him for making the sacrifice for running for national office." As most of my readers know, Sen. Brownback is running for the 2008 Presidency.

Archbishop Burke led the rally's final prayer where he encouraged the pro-life advocates to continue their "daily engagement in the fostering of human life ... without exception, without compromise." I think his prayer is the best advice we can take in our proclamation for the Culture of Life. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 19:42 | link | comments |
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