How easy it was for Bill Clinton tornbomb innocent civilians in Serbia and torndevastate all those warlords hiding out inrnaspirin factories and milk plants inrnEthiopia and Sudan! It was a cinch, especiallyrnfrom 30,000 feet: quick, clean,rnand legal. Make it simple enough, andrnkilling’ s a snap. Stealth, slick marketing,rnand good timing make it easy to swallow,rnjust like . . . a pill. Abortions are no different.rnBut contrary to Bill Clinton’s pervertedrnlogic, it doesn’t make them anyrnrarer, just more convenient. Unborn babiesrnwere better off in the days of back-alleyrnabortions than in the new era of instantrninfanticide.rn”Wliat we’re dealing with here are littlernmore than fertilized eggs,” as one lovelyrnyoung feminist who actually witnessedrnan abortion, albeit performed the oldfashionedrnway, so eloquently put it. “Arnmere piece of rice in a spoonful ofrnblood,” she continued, one romanticrnevening over a dinner comprising veryrnmuch the same ingredients. Never mindrnthat at one time she looked no better, andrnwas probably more alive —physically asrnwell as spiritually. Vlio needs concentrationrncamps when we have government-rnrun HMOs? Where will all thernpro-lifers go to picket when the clinic isrnright down the block at their local Wal-rnMart? And who in his right mind is goingrnto shoot his friendly pharmacist for pushingrnthe finest weapon in the arsenalrnagainst life since Hitler’s death factories?rn—joe PrussingrnROCKFORD doesn’t often make thernnational news, but when it does, you canrnbe certain it’s not because of any goodrnthat’s happening here. Our latest brushrnwith fame came on the last day ofrnSeptember, when a 32-year-old Catholicrnpriest from a parish just south of Rockfordrnrammed his car into the local abortuary.rnFr. John Earl then took an ax and madernkindling of two heavy wooden doors inrn”Fort Turner,” which used to be a publicrnschool. While the house of death wasrnclosed for business, the owner, WaynernWebster, lives in the building, and hernconfronted Father Earl with a shotgun,rnfiring two shells before the priest laidrndown his axe.rnThe reaction was predictable: Beforernanyone knew any details, some local prolifersrnproclaimed Father Earl a moderndayrnhero, while others unequivocallyrncondemned him. The local Cannett paper,rnof course, used the attack as an opportunityrnto condemn excessive zeal onrnthe part of the pro-life movement and tornpraise the FDA’s decision to approve thernhuman pesticide RU-486. A local radiorntalk-show host marveled at coincidence:rnWasn’t it “ironic” that he’d had RichardrnRagsdale, the abortionist, on his show thernday before the attack to discuss how RU-rn486 will change the nature of the abortionrndebate?rnThe true irony is that neither the talkshowrnhost nor the local pro-lifers whornsponsored the annual Life Chain the dayrnafter the attack seem to have consideredrnthe role that their actions may havernplayed in motivating Father Earl. Activistsrnon both sides of the question knowrnthat the graphic public discussion ofrnabortion (or, in the case of the LifernChain, the pornographic depiction ofrnaborted children on posters) cannot helprnbut arouse emotions. Father Earl, ofrncourse, is ultimately responsible for hisrnown actions, and—contrary to some lettersrnto the editor comparing him tornChrist throwing the moneychangers outrnof the temple—what he did was, at best, arnviolation of propert)’ rights. (The temple,rnas Christ pointed out, was His Father’srnhouse; this hellhole belongs to WaynernWebster.) But the unceasing refrain ofrn”America’s ongoing holocaust” will ultimatelyrnlead some to conclude that therntime has come to quit talking and startrnsaving babies —and desperate men willrnemploy desperate measures.rnIn national opinion polls, a majority ofrnAmericans claim to support outlawingrnabortion except in cases of rape, incest,rnand saving the life of the mother, andrnpro-life sentiment here in Rockford runsrneven higher. But pro-lifers have takenrnthe extreme stand of demanding a human-rnlife amendment to the Constitution,rnand that has allowed them to makernthe compromises that keep “Doctor”rnRagsdale in business. The truth is, localrnpro-lifers could shut down Fort Turnerrnthrough zoning laws, by making abortionrnthe major issue in Rockford’s mayoralrnand aldermanic campaigns. But as wernapproach another local election in April,rnlocal pro-lifers are crisscrossing the city,rnputting up Bush-Cheney signs in thernvain hope that the Republican candidaternwho recentiy betrayed them on abortionrnwill do more to protect unborn childrenrnthan the Democratic candidate who soldrnthem out ten years ago.rnRussell Kirk was fond of quoting EdmundrnBurke’s admonition that wernshouldn’t let the perfect be the enemy ofrnthe good. By setting the impossible asrnour goal, we excuse ourselves from doingrnwhat can be done. Abortion will not bernstopped by axe-wielding Catholic priestsrnor Republican presidents, and Roe v.rnWade will probably never be overturned.rnThe best we can hope to do is shut downrnour local abortuary and pray that othersrnfollow our lead. Until we can muster thernmoral and political will to act locally, thernrivers of blood will continue to flow.rn-ScottP.RichertrnTHE OJSION caused quite a stir a couplernof weeks ago when it was read bv anrnunsuspecting Christian. Through thernpower of the internet and e-mail, a satiricalrnstory entitled “Harry Potter BooksrnSpark Rise in Satanism Among Children”rnwas forwarded from one concernedrnChristian to another. Chillingrn(and entirely fictional) examples of blatantrnSatanism encouraged by J.K. Rowlingrnwere cut and pasted into the e-mailrnwarning, including: “‘The Harry Potterrnbooks are cool, ’cause they teach you allrnabout magic and how you can use it torncontrol people and get revenge on yourrnenemies,’ said Hartland, WI, 10-year-oldrnCraig Nowell, a recent convert to thernNew Satanic Order Of The Black Circle.rn’I want to learn the Cruciatus Curse, tornmake my muggle science teacher sufferrnfor giving me a D.'”rnThe humorists at the Madison, Wisconsin-rnbased Onion also cited a fictionalrnarticle from the Titnes of London, whichrnincluded the following spurious quoternfrom Rowling: “I think it’s absolute rubbishrnto protest children’s books on therngrounds that they are luring children tornSatan . . . People should be praising themrnfor that!”rnBut the Onion did not invent arnSeptember 1 story in the Times that describedrn”Harry Potter liturgy.” It seemsrnthe Church of England, indefatigable inrnher efforts to reach a lost generation ofrnyoung people, has molded the Service ofrnthe Word from the once-great and oft-revisedrnBook of Common Prayer into a seekerrnsendee for voung Potterites.rn”A banner featuring a serpent,” reportsrnthe Times, “representing the House ofrnSlytherin . . . will adorn the 1960’srnchurch of All Saints in Guildford, Surrey,rnthis Sunday. Banners of the other threernHogwarts houses will also be displayed.”rnCampus Crusade evangelicals in Englandrnexpressed outrage at the C of E,rnsaying she is “importing evil symbols intorn6/CHRONICLESrnrnrn
January 1975April 21, 2022By The Archive
Leave a Reply