Archive for the 'Myths Series' Category

Fr. Frank Pavone at Priests for Life has a very ingenious new pro-life political project going, called, “Is This What You Mean?” The details about it can be read here.

Simply put, it is an effort to challenge pro-abortion politicians on their abortion stance, describing abortion procedures to them in the words of abortionists, and then asking them, “When you say you support abortion, is this what you mean?”

Such a challenge could be used in any town hall meeting that any official is holding for the public.

Making it necessary for politicians to face up to what they’re supporting in such a way can be powerful! Not only does the politician have to hear and face what abortion really is, but all the other people in the room also are fully informed about what abortion does to babies.

This project also serves to unmask abortion before politicians and the public. It makes abortion to no longer be merely “a choice for women”, or a vague “right” that the Supreme Court validated 35 years ago, or a “family planning choice”, or any other deceiving, sugar-coated lie. And who better know what abortion is than abortionists who perform them? Whom we will be quoting in our challenges to politicians.

Fr. Frank was also talking about how this “Is This What You Mean?” project can be used in so many other areas of pro-life activism. In classrooms, debates, blogs, and editorials are just a few places where we can expose abortion to those who either support it or who are considering supporting it. Anyone who says, “I am pro-choice”, or, “I support abortion”, needs to hear what abortion really is.

Like graphic signs, this project is another way of showing exactly what abortion is, but with words instead, the words of those who perform abortions.

I am certainly going to be a part of this very powerful project, and I hope that you too will use this new way of defending the unborn.

God bless.

Sometimes, things seem to be getting stranger and stranger. I always wonder what those who promote the Culture of Death are going to come up with next. What will be their next “ingenious” attack on human life and dignity?

I just read an article from Time Magazine that really was an “ingenious” attack on human life and dignity! I really can’t believe what I read sometimes. Our pro-life position seems so terribly sensible and simple compared to some of the Culture of Death “reasonings”. (more…)

Note: This is the second installment in an occassional series by Eric Scheidler on the myths many people hold about pro-lifers and the pro-life movement.

Does this young woman look to you like she’s filled with hate?

One of the most common claims being made about pro-lifers and the pro-life movement is that we are “filled with hate” or that we are bent on “spreading hate.” We hear this all the time in press statements by the likes of NARAL, NOW and Planned Parenthood. It’s all over the blogosphere.

In a way, this is a diffucult myth to address. For one thing, it’s so far out of phase with reality that it’s hard to know where to begin. When I think of the kindness and generosity of the pro-life activists that it’s my priviledge to stand with out on the street . . .

But why would anyone who’s willing to believe this myth in the first place take my word for it? Never mind that it would be rather out of character for a hate-monger to care what anyone thinks of him.

I suppose the only way to really debunk this one is for those who hold it to spend time with pro-lifers and find out what we’re really like. The best I can do along those lines here in this article is to offer some typical pictures of pro-life activists doing what we do. Aside from that, I’d like to explore some of the psychology behind this myth.

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Take a look at the picture at right. It’s from a protest on April 7, 2004 at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and it says a lot about the myths—and realities—about who pro-lifers really are. That’s a topic I want to take up in some detail over the coming weeks.

In this photo you see a pro-abortion counter-protestor holding a sign that reads, Racist, Sexist, Anti-gay, Born again BIGOTS GO AWAY, a favorite slogan among of the pro-abortion activists. To his left stands Joe Scheidler, my father and the founder of the Pro-Life Action League, who has just been hit in the face with a blast of black dye. He required medical attention and his left eye troubles him to this day. His pro-abortion attacker was never apprehended.

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