An Opportunity Missed

By Ken Concannon
Herald Columnist
(From the issue of 12/21/06)

I don’t know how many times I’ve been told over the years, by both friends and family, that abortion is “not the only issue.” I’ve been accused of being unreasonable, narrow-minded, and unaware of the other important issues of our time, simply because I would not vote for a political candidate who was not pro-life. In response to such criticism I have said, more than once, that given a choice between a pro-life monkey and a well-spoken, seemingly intelligent pro-abortion candidate, I’d vote for the monkey every time. That response usually ended the discussion, with more than one roll of the eyes from those within earshot.
These unfortunate discussions have been going on for over 30 years. When first I voiced my political opinions concerning abortion so long ago, my concerns were based on what the utter disregard for the right to life of the unborn could lead to in this country. Now they are based on what that disregard has led to.
I no longer see abortion as the “only issue.” I now see abortion as the front line in an increasingly aggressive assault on the American family, on human dignity and on the sanctity of life. The assault has manifested itself: in the form of euthanasia practiced in Oregon; in the 13-day starvation death of Terri Schiavo last year; in the horror of partial-birth infanticide; in “clone and kill” stem cell research bills that have been passed in Maryland, Missouri, New Jersey, California, Connecticut, Illinois and Massachusetts; in the infanticide advocacy of Princeton ethics professor Peter Singer, a man whose pronouncements on this subject are applauded by a growing number of the liberal elite; and in the gradual destruction of the American family.
I also see abortion as the dividing line between those of us who believe that truth is not relative and evil is very real — and those who neither see nor hear evil because they believe it doesn’t exist, because everything, including truth, is relative. In their world, everything is negotiable, anything goes, and no one is accountable. In their world, the unthinkable is acceptable if it can be linked to a promised future good.
Their view of the world has, for the last several decades, been supported and embraced by a Supreme Court dominated by activist liberal justices who have taken it upon themselves to redefine our Constitution, and with it our country, without our consent. Operating as a power unto themselves, they have, in the words of the late Justice Thurgood Marshall, used the court to “do what you think is right and let the law catch up.”
The court has been used by what some call “secular-progressives” — what I usually call “liberals” — to impose upon the rest of us things we would never vote for if given the opportunity. Their crowning achievement thus far has been the infamous Roe vs. Wade decision that created an industry built around the brutal destruction of the unborn.
Roe is the pillar upon which the culture of death in this country has built all its terrible hopes, and the decision that the relativist “anything goes” crowd reveres as the bulwark against religion-inspired government intrusion into “lifestyle choices.” To these people, Roe is sacred and must be protected at all costs.
Protection of Roe has been accomplished by ensuring that there were always at least five committed liberal justices on the nine-person Supreme Court. Charged with that ignoble responsibility has been the entrenched liberal contingent in the United States Senate. The Senate is the body responsible for approving presidential appointments to the federal judiciary, and for over 30 years the Senate’s diehard liberals have been very effective in ensuring the appointment of pro-abortion Roe supporters to the Supreme Court — until earlier this year.
With the appointment of Samuel Alito to replace the retired Sandra Day O’Connor, the balance of power on the court has shifted. There are now just as many conservative justices (Scalia, Thomas, Roberts, Alito) as liberals (Breyer, Stevens, Ginsburg, Souter), with one swing vote, Anthony Kennedy. And the oldest member of the Court, liberal John Paul Stevens, is rumored to be in poor health and thinking of retirement. A pro-life opportunity loomed.
Unfortunately, thanks to the recent Congressional elections, the Senate is now back in the hands of pro-abortion liberals, who will do everything in their power to keep another conservative from being appointed to the Court. The pro-life opportunity has probably been lost.

Concannon is a freelance writer from Manassas.

Copyright (c) 2006 Arlington Catholic Herald