By Judie Brown
In the midst of all the clamoring, posturing and bickering of the election season, it is easy to get swept up in discussions on how to vote, if one should vote and why it is important to vote. And, of course, it is of the utmost urgency that we take full advantage of our freedoms in America and do all we can to select those men and women who will keep our nation safe from external dangers and internal strife.
Not only do we entrust the implementation of just laws to these people, but we also rely on them to make prudent decisions in matters affecting the rest of the world and those who defend our nation at home and abroad.
As Americans, we commemorate our war heroes and their sacrifices by setting aside one day each year to honor them: Memorial Day. On that day, we remember in prayer and in our hearts the thousands of valiant, heroic men and women have given their very lives to protect our right to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. They are the ones who have secured our liberty and confirmed with their blood the principles that make America great.
So why am I asking you to take time out of your politicking and busy schedule to think about a memorial day of a different sort? The single most important reason is this: Electioneering is not saving preborn babies, and the so-called pro-life individuals who have been elected as a result of our blood, sweat and tears have not even made a dent on restoring personhood to the preborn.
Far too many in this nation have never thought of the struggle to end abortion as a war – a war that has taken more lives than all the wars in the history of America combined.
This is precisely why we set aside a day each October to mourn the loss of the millions of Americans who never had a chance to live. Not a one of them will ever have an opportunity to cast a vote, wear a uniform or defend the borders of this nation. They are dead, and if you put this fact in the proper context, its profoundly tragic dimensions become even clearer. For example, those 744,600 Americans who died prior to birth in 1973 alone would today be 35 years of age and contributing to society in ways we cannot even imagine.
Maybe one of those 35-year-olds would have discovered a cure for Parkinson's disease. Perhaps one of them would have mesmerized a nation with a vision of what it means to follow Christ and never count the cost. It is feasible that at least a few of them would have been among those heroic men and women we honored this past Memorial Day.
But they are all gone – murdered in the wombs of their mothers before they ever had a chance to give a hug, shed a tear or inspire a child. Their loss is our loss, and we must never forget them, lest we forget the real reason why we struggle to end this plague.
American Life League sponsors the annual Pro-Life Memorial Day on the first Monday of October to call attention to these victims of the culture of death. On that day, the Supreme Court starts its new term. It is appropriate to commemorate the aborted children on that day, as it is the United States Supreme Court that imposed the tragic Roe v. Wade and Doe v. Bolton decisions on our nation.
In addition, October is Respect Life Month all across America. We will participate in Life Chain; 40 Days for Life will be well under way and religious services will be held so that Americans can pray for our nation, mothers who have aborted their children and all others affected by this tragedy.
October is the month when leaves change colors, and autumn presents us with an array of colors that please the eye, reminding us of God's awesome gifts. Appropriately, October 6, 2008 is also the day when we will take time out to remember those boys and girls whose fate was intentionally and irrevocably sealed by the slice of a knife, the stab of a needle in the heart or some other grisly practice resulting in premature death.
More than 49,000,000 children have died in this tragic war being waged in the wombs of mothers on a daily basis. To my mind, this sobering fact should prompt anyone truly committed to ending abortion to use October 6 as an opportunity to remember the dead and resolve to actively pursue the protection of those persons not yet created – none of whom should face premature death by abortion.
For details on Pro-Life Memorial Day and the apparel designed for silent, prayerful protests on October 6, see http://www.prolifememorialday.
Judie Brown is president of American Life League and a member of the Pontifical Academy for Life.
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