By Mary Frances McCarthy
Herald Staff Writer
(From the issue of 7/8/04)

ARLINGTON — Jennifer O’Neill, celebrity spokeswoman for the Silent No More campaign, said that speaking at the National Right to Life Convention is like "preaching to the choir."

At the closing banquet O’Neill shared her story of her own abortion and offered encouragement to the men and women involved in the pro-life fight.

Every four years the National Right to Life Committee (NRLC) holds its convention in Arlington to "remind Congress, the Supreme Court and the president of the grand principle expressed in the Declaration of Independence, namely that the right to life is an unalienable right ‘endowed by the Creator,’" said Wanda Franz, NRLC president.

For three days, 1,000 people gathered to learn more about the issues that concern members of the pro-life movement and what they can do to help the cause move forward.

At the opening session, President George W. Bush greeted the convention goers via video, saying, "You believe as I do that every person, however frail or vulnerable, is a blessing and has a place and a purpose in this world. We must stand for an America in which every life counts and every life matters. Life is a creation of God, not a commodity to be exploited by man."

Expanding on the theme of the convention — "Infinite Possibilities" — Congressman Chris Smith, R-N.J., said, "It’s a lifetime of memories, the ability to contribute to society that is snuffed out in abortion."

He quoted Alveda King, the niece of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., who said, "How can the dream go on if we murder our children? If the dream of Dr. Martin Luther King is to live, we have to let our babies live."

The conference captured the feeling of a political convention at many sessions, with speakers urging people to make their voices heard at the voting booths and to encourage others to do so as well. They were urged to vote, not by party affiliation, but by examining their conscience and the issues clearly.

"It is not morally responsible to go into the voting booth and vote according to the letter following the name," said Father Frank Pavone, director of Priests for Life. "There is nothing wrong with belonging to a political party. There is nothing wrong with being loyal to a political party. But there is something very wrong when our loyalty to a political party is greater than our loyalty to God and to basic moral principles."

Instead of voting along party lines, Father Pavone advocated evaluating the issues for which a candidate stands.

While there are many issues to consider — such as healthcare, homelessness and world hunger — Father Pavone explained that the right to life is still the most important right, for without life, no other rights can be applied. And, he said, "If a politician cannot respect the life of a little baby, how can he respect yours?"

While many argue that the right to life debate is a religious debate and there should be more of a separation between church and state, Father Pavone said a third term in that equation is often forgotten — morality.

No matter what a majority, or even a minority, says, murder will never be moral, whether it is the murder of an adult in a robbery, the murder of an unborn child through abortion, or the murder of a defenseless woman, like Terri Schindler-Schiavo, through starvation and dehydration, Father Pavone said.

Schiavo’s case, he said, is "not about somebody’s ‘right to die’ because their suffering is too great. This is about the ‘right’ of some people to kill because their inconvenience is too great."

Bobby Schindler, Terri’s younger brother, addressed the conference at a prayer breakfast. He said, "My sister has fallen victim to their agenda and her alleged wish that she would rather be starved to death than be cared for by her family."

According to Pat Anderson, attorney for the Schindler family, in the state of Florida it is against the law to starve a dog to death, but a judge ruled that Schiavo’s husband had the "right" to starve her to death to end her suffering.

"Terri lives the life of solitary confinement that, had it been happening to a death row inmate, the ACLU would be all over it," Anderson said.

"Terri has shown us in the way that counts that she wishes to live — by continuing to live for 14 years," she said. "Who would choose death over life considering the tender love of a younger brother or considering all consuming, tender love of a mother and father? According to the judge, Terri would."

Since Schiavo’s case has received so much publicity and following the death of President Ronald Reagan, the debates over the legality of euthanasia and the practice of so-called "extreme measures" to keep a person alive have resurfaced. Some even go so far as to argue that Reagan should not have had hip surgery three years ago, or received antibiotics for treatable infections because that simply prolonged his suffering.

But the truth of the matter is how can a person who has not had Alzheimer’s or been in a coma know the suffering that people in these states experience?

Within the Church, euthanasia is defined as "an action or an omission which of itself or by intention causes death, in order that all suffering may in this way be eliminated" ("Declaration on Euthanasia").

Dr. George Isajiw, founding member of the Philadelphia-area Physicians for Life, said euthanasia is easily understood as unethical because, "none of us here have experienced death, and most of us have not yet experienced chronic illness or serious suffering, so it takes a little more than basic gut feelings to understand why life — even in the presence of suffering and illness — is still precious and sacred, and why choosing death is always wrong, even when our fears and uncertainties may tempt us to think that death could be a solution to pain and suffering."

As a whole, the convention was not focused on death, but on life. The pro-life movement has gained momentum nationally the last two years with the passage of the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban and the Born-Alive Infants Protection Act.

On the day he addressed the assembly, Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore was excited to announce that "(unborn children) do count in the Commonwealth of Virginia today. And I am committed to the fight to punish those who would steal the most precious among us — our children."

July 1 marked the implementation of Virginia’s Connor’s Law, ensuring that when an unborn child is killed in an act of violence, a perpetrator can be tried for the murder of that child.

"All of you have made the trip here because you believe in the sanctity of human life and the preciousness of every one of God’s creations," Kilgore said. "You are right morally; you are right medically; you are right ethically; you are right politically; and, I promise you, one day you will be recognized as right in the law across this land."