An Open Letter to “Pro-choice” Candidates
October 27, 2008
Dear brothers and sisters,
In these days you are seeking the votes of
your fellow Americans for public office. At the
same time, you take the position that abortion,
however regrettable it may be, should remain
legal.
I write to express the convictions of tens of
millions of citizens. Your position is a blatant
contradiction to the very meaning of public
service, the first requirement of which is to be
able to tell the difference between serving the
public and killing the public!
We ask, first of all, Have you ever seen
an abortion? So many who defend abortion’s
legality cannot even bring themselves to look at
the horrifying pictures of children torn apart
by the procedure (www.unborn.info).
But if we cannot look at it, why should we
tolerate it?
We likewise ask, Are you willing to
publicly describe what you think should be
legal? Abortionist Dr. Martin Haskell, in
sworn testimony, described the “D and E”
abortion procedure, still legal throughout our
nation, by saying, “Typically the skull is
brought out in fragments rather than as a
unified piece…" (Madison, WI, May 27, 1999,
Case No. 98-C-0305-S). In the same case,
abortionist Dr. Hylan Raymond Giles, when asked,
“Can the heart of a fetus or embryo still be
beating during a suction curettage abortion as
the fetus or embryo comes down the cannula?”
answered, “For a few seconds to a minute,
yes.”
When you say the word “abortion,” is this
what you mean? When you say it should be legal,
are you willing to quote those who explain what
it is?
Your position is undermining the fabric of
our nation. We repeat to you again the question
posed by Mother Teresa in her speech at the
National Prayer Breakfast in Washington DC on
February 3, 1994. “And if we accept that a
mother can kill even her own child, how can we
tell other people not to kill one another?"
We have not yet heard a “pro-choice”
candidate answer any of these questions.
That’s why people cannot vote for you, and
you shouldn’t be asking for their vote. If you
can’t respect and protect the life of a little
baby, how are you supposed to respect and
protect our lives, or any other right we
possess?
When you ask citizens for their vote, you are
actually asking them to share in your failure to
protect these children. You’re asking them to
share in the deception by which you justify that
failure. You’re asking them, too, to contradict
the meaning of public service. They are not
morally permitted to say yes to what you are
asking.
We in the pro-life movement do not need any
reminders about the plight of young mothers. We
serve them every day, providing real
alternatives to abortion.
Nor do we accept the accusation that we are
narrowly focused on a “single issue.” We are not
ashamed of the fact that we recognize a
holocaust when we see one, and that we
understand the foundation, heart, and core of
our concern for all the other issues – life
itself.
We’re not a vote for you to court or an
interest group for you to appease. Rather, our
movement represents the heart and core of every
movement for justice. That is why, whether you
end up elected to public office or not, we will
be there – in the halls of government, in the
media, and on the streets of every city, town,
and countryside across America – pressing the
cause of justice for a group of human beings
whose rights you have forgotten.
We will neither cease to remind you, nor will
we wait for you to remember. Our cause is as
great as America itself, and it will prevail.
May you have the wisdom to join us.
Sincerely,
Fr. Frank Pavone
National Director, Priests for Life
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